Uncertainties
by Danny Phantom SG-1
Summary: Sharpay and Ryan create the perfect scheme to choreograph the fall musical while letting Troy and Gabriella star. The catch? With whom do you think they will be rehearsing for all those weeks? Troypay, Ryella, Troyella and Ryelsi...but which will win out?
1. End of Summer

Uncertainties

It was the last day of summer. Ryan sighed exasperatedly. All of the time he had spent with his newfound friends was coming to a close and he couldn't do anything about it. It had been the most amazing summer vacation he had ever had. Not only did he break the bonds his sister had shackled onto him all his life, but he had been accepted by people…and not just because his sister forced them to. It was his own decision. They were his friends by choice. And it felt fabulous.

He had one person in particular to thank for this feeling, and that was Gabriella Montez. Who would have thought, of all the people in East High, that the girl he and his sister had tried so desperately to kick out of their musical would become his closest friend? Of course, Ryan was mature enough now, on his own, to be looking for much more than friendship from a girl, having taken into account how his manner of dress might affect people's opinions of his…well…preferences. It hadn't been his fault he dressed like that in the first place, he had just done whatever Sharpay had told him to do; that way, no one would hate him for who he was individually, it would all be because of his sister. He couldn't bear the thought of someone hating him, but if they hated the Evans twins, suddenly the hate was now spread between two people, Sharpay bearing the brunt of it.

But, thankfully, this summer, all that had changed. Now his wardrobe consisted of much less pink, sparkly, theatrical clothing and had become virtually normal for a straight, male senior in high school, all evidence of his former self gone. Except for the hats, of course. He still had them, but none of them were quite so over-the-top as before. He'd taken a few style tips from Chad and Troy and so far, he was pleased. Sharpay, of course, was another story, but her approval was no longer the only person's he strove for. When a girl welcomes you into her life with open arms for the first time (and is not your sister), you feel the indescribable need to be near her at all times.

Thus developed his small, innocent crush on Gabriella. He knew nothing would ever come of it. Come on, Troy and Gabriella were practically the poster couple of teenage love lasting for eternity. Even he had seen that and helped get them back together for the Midsummer's Night Talent Show. But he couldn't help but eye her every now and again, and the strangest sensations would overcome him when he was near her, especially when he managed to impress her or make her laugh.

But all of this was over now. Summer was ending and all of the employees were headed home for the last time before school started again. Ryan stood in the parking lot, waving to everyone as they left and occasionally making small talk with them. But he was waiting for one person in particular. He had to say goodbye before she left, whether he thought his heart could stand it or not.

At last, in the middle of his conversation with Chad, Ryan heard the most welcome sound in the world.

"Hey, Ryan!" came the sweet melody of Gabriella's voice and Ryan stopped in the middle of his sentence, completely forgetting what he and Chad had been discussing.

Thankfully, Chad took this as his cue to leave. "See you later, man. Try out for the baseball team this year with me?"

Without looking back at Chad (and barely listening), Ryan said "Yeah, sure," halfheartedly.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this yoga class time?" Gabriella asked, beaming up at him happily.

"Huh? Oh, well, yeah, but…I think I've stretched enough this summer. I need to get used to not contorting myself into odd shapes and standing on my head all day," he said sarcastically.

Score. She laughed. "Well, I'm glad you're here. I was just going to leave and I would hate to go without saying goodbye to you."

Ryan smiled slightly and ducked his head a bit to hide the warmth spreading across his face. He glanced up at her and said, "I wouldn't let you leave without saying goodbye. Thanks for everything you've done for me this summer."

She gaped at him. "Everything _I've_ done for _you_? Ryan, you're the one who helped us win the talent show! You're the one who got the Wildcats' spirits back up! You're the one who helped me and Troy get back together!"

_Don't remind me of that last one_, Ryan thought. "Yeah, but…you helped me feel like I belonged, you know? For years, I've been nothing buy Sharpay's brother, but…thanks to you, I can be my own person now."

Gabriella smiled modestly and cocked her head. "Sure. Just promise you'll stop with this mushy talk. It's not like we're not going to see each other tomorrow."

Ryan shrugged. "Not in the same way."

Gabriella shook her head, still smiling. "True. We'll be in school…here's to hoping we don't get Mrs. Darbus as a homeroom teacher again this year…but also to hoping you and me will be in the same class."

Ryan merely grinned in response, then decided that they should stop talking before he revealed all of his deepest, inner secrets to her.

"Hey, come here," he said, friendly enough. He spread his arms invitingly and they embraced.

He closed his eyes, trying to revel in the moment and make sure he would never forget it. Oblivious to his need to hold her, Gabriella pulled away calmly and looked him in the eye.

"See you tomorrow. Promise you'll hang out with me this year and we won't have that stupid rivalry thing with the musicals and stuff?" she asked.

"Promise," he said, nodding and trying his hardest to make sure he stayed conscious.

"Bye," she said softly as she clambered into her car and drove off; gone as quickly as she had come.

But not so quickly that Sharpay Evans hadn't seen the ordeal go down.

** Review and let me know if anything needs fixing: spelling, grammar, names, continuity errors, length, premise, anything. Thank you all!**


	2. Forming the Plot

Ryan waited until Gabriella's car was out of sight to turn around. Sighing heavily, he kicked a few rocks and moseyed on back to the Lava Springs Resort building. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground, not wanting any distractions to take him from his last moment with Gabriella this summer.

Sharpay watched her brother intently, her lips pursed in anger. She was reluctantly accepting of the fact that her brother was now such wonderful chums with those Wildcats, but this…oh this was going way too far for Sharpay to handle. She had played nice all summer, either ignoring or being as civil as possible to their employees. She loved her brother and wanted him to be happy, whether she agreed with his choices or not. But this was the final straw. Hugging Gabriella Montez was _not_ on Sharpay's okay list.

As her brother drew nearer, still oblivious to the fact that his sister was waiting impatiently to have a word with him, Sharpay had a sudden revelation. A clever smile played on her lips as a light went off in her head. Perhaps Ryan hugging Gabriella could prove advantageous to her. She quickly scuttled out of the way, making sure to avoid Ryan as he came close to the building. She would have a little chat with him later.

Ryan entered the building and took his hat off, a rare occurrence, and exhaled loudly as he pushed back his hair. He was confused about his feelings and what he should do, but he had no one to turn to for help. Mom would not be able to handle the fact that her little baby boy had developed a crush, and Dad would just smile and tell him about when he was younger and fix his hat. And Sharpay…wow, he didn't even want to go there. So he replaced his cap and walked through the hallways of the place.

He finally found his parents in the weight room, his Dad showing off by lifting what Ryan was sure were fake dumbbells and his mother practicing her yoga.

"Hello, Son. What've you been up to?" his father asked in a great, booming voice.

Ryan shrugged, "Nothing much. Just…getting ready to leave."

His mom looked over at him with a smile, "Oh, Darling, listen, your father and I are going to stay at the resort an extra week. You know…so we can have a week without you kids hanging around here all the time."

Ryan grimaced at the thoughts that popped into his mind of his parents alone, but they merely laughed heartily.

"Yeah…okay. I'll go find Sharpay and we'll get going, then. Uh…I guess we'll see you guys next week," he said awkwardly, leaving them to their business.

Sharpay had snuck in the back door of the resort and had walked into the music room where Kelsi so often worked on her piano, hoping to find the little composer there.

Sure enough, Kelsi was seated at the piano, playing one of her newest compositions when Sharpay walked in, grinning mischievously. At the sight of her, Kelsi's eyes widened and she packed away the music that she had been rehearsing.

"Why, Kelsi! I'm so glad to see you here! It's good that you haven't left yet because I wanted to talk to you about this year's fall musical…old pal," Sharpay said, pleased with herself for adding another touch of friendliness to her statement.

Kelsi merely stared at Sharpay neutrally. She had known Sharpay long enough not to fall for her "niceness" act this summer. Sharpay was unpredictable and could turn on a dime, so Kelsi tended to walk on eggshells when she was near. She found herself wishing Ryan was there as well because, especially this summer, he had been standing up for Kelsi more often.

Seeing that Kelsi wasn't going to start the conversation, Sharpay continued. "So, I'm hoping you'll write this year's fall musical because you did so beautifully with the one last winter...despite the fact that my brother and I were reduced to mere understudies. But you could use one of your old ideas for a musical…or a new one, if you like. I just have one teensy little suggestion that I would prefer you use."

Kelsi rolled her eyes. Like she didn't see this coming.

"Make sure that the musical has a lot of upbeat duets, so that they involve a lot of dancing, okay? Especially with partners. That's all I ask of you," Sharpay said smugly.

Kelsi scrutinized her, "What if I want to use a softer, more intimate play this year? I mean, I was planning on…"

Sharpay cut her off at the first sign of defiance. "Come, now, Kelsi. We wouldn't want your last paycheck from Lava Springs to get…conveniently lost in the mail or anything, would we?"

Kelsi's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

Sharpay looked at her innocently, "Wouldn't what? If that happened, just what would you do about it?"

Kelsi looked down at the ground, intimidated. Everyone knew she couldn't stand up for herself, especially when it came to Sharpay.

Sharpay smirked. "That's what I thought. So do we have a deal?"

Kelsi simply nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Good," Sharpay said triumphantly.

"Hey, Sis! There you are. I think it's time we get going," came a voice from the doorway. Neither Sharpay nor Kelsi had seen Ryan come in and both their heads shot to look at him.

"Ryan? How long have you been standing there?" asked Sharpay worriedly.

Ryan cocked his head. "I just got here, why?"

Relief flowed into her as Sharpay answered, "No reason. Alright, let's go."

Ryan let Sharpay rush past him prissily out the door and he turned to follow her. But before he started walking, he looked back in at Kelsi.

"Hey, you should get going, too, Kels. Your shift ended a long time ago," He said warmly to Kelsi.

Kelsi blushed and said, "I know. I was just…practicing. Then Sharpay came in and…"

Ryan looked at her, concerned, "And what?"

Kelsi wanted so badly to tell Ryan; to trust him. But she just didn't have the willpower that he did: the willpower to break away from Sharpay's orders.

"Nothing. We just talked. I'll see you in school tomorrow," Kelsi said lamely.

Ryan grinned widely. "Yeah. I'll see you."

Then, he followed in his sister's footsteps to get to their car in the parking lot. Kelsi watched after him longingly, her heart fluttering wildly, but shook that thought from her head. There was no way that could ever happen.

** Grammatically, spelling-wise, character-wise or length-wise, please let me know how you feel about this story and what I am doing right or what could be done to improve it.**


	3. Revelations

**Should have said this before, but...special thanks to Senatsu and Lady Charity for inspiration for this story. I think that's all I got this time. Read and enjoy. **

Sharpay honked the horn impatiently as Ryan sauntered up to her pink convertible.

"Where were you? I said 'let's go' and when I say it's time to go, it's time to go!" Sharpay said indignantly, letting up on the horn.

Ryan rolled his eyes and decided to answer for the sake of answering. Sharpay really didn't want to hear it, but…it gave him hope that someday she just might notice that he had an actual life. "I was talking to Kelsi. Told her she should go home. It's getting late."

"No kidding," Sharpay said. "Which was why I said 'let's go'!"

Ryan let out a frustrated sigh as he climbed in and his sister started the car. It was at that moment that Ryan realized for the first time in his life what a horrible impression it must give to people that he rides around with his twin sister in a bright pink convertible with the license plate "FABULUS". He shuddered at the thought.

Sharpay began driving and watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye. She was going to wait to catch him off guard before she brought up her idea…just to enhance the dramatic factor of it, of course. But it appeared Ryan had drifted off into "Ryanland" quicker than she had thought. Now was the perfect opportunity.

"You know the fall musical, Ryan…" she began innocently.

"Mmhmm…" Ryan said absentmindedly. He had listened to this speech before. 'We've got to do this and that and wear the perfect designer clothes, of course, and dance our hearts out and we HAVE to beat out Troy and Gabriella.' He laughed to himself. Like Sharpay could ever beat out Gabriella. Like he would ever beat out Troy. They were tailor-made for theater productions and each other, which, frankly, made Ryan just a tad bit jealous. But it also looked much more natural onstage to have a boyfriend and girlfriend playing two lovers than a brother and sister. He had never thought of that before, either…probably because Sharpay was always so dramatic and over-the-top in the past productions.

Wow. Ryan was having revelations all over the place today.

"Well," Sharpay continued, Ryan listening simply because there was nothing else to listen to, "I don't think we should try out this year."

Ryan's head jerked around so fast at Sharpay, he nearly got whiplash. There was no way he had heard that sentence correctly. Those words would never come out of his sister's mouth.

Would they?

"WHAT?!?" he asked, so loudly that Sharpay had to grip the steering wheel harder to stay on the road.

Sharpay, however, kept her look of suaveness, a small smirk on her face, and looked at Ryan out of the corner of her eye.

"I said I don't think we should try out this year."

Ryan cocked his head to one side, now utterly confused beyond reason.

"Why?!? These musicals are, like…your whole life! We've been in all of them! Heck, we were the leads in all of them until last year," Ryan said.

"Exactly. I just think that…you know, out of the goodness of our hearts, we should let the married couple get the lead roles. Just to lessen the pressure on them, we won't try out, because if we did, well…you know who would win," she said haughtily.

Ryan felt his face flush. "They're not married," he mumbled embarrassedly.

Sharpay's smirk widened. Just as she had expected. "What's the matter, Ry? Is something wrong?"

"No," he lied.

Sharpay turned to face him. "You have a crush on her, don't you? You like her a lot."

"Sharpay, watch the road! And, no…of course I don't have a crush on her. She's just…really nice to me, that's all," Ryan contradicted, but the color now becoming more prominent on his cheeks told another story.

"Don't kid with me, Ry. I know you. You're my brother. My TWIN brother. I have a sixth sense about these things. I saw you hugging her. I saw the look on your face. You're in love. Admit it," Sharpay demanded.

Ryan looked at her from under his hat. "It's not love…it's a crush," upon seeing the look of victory on Sharpay's face, he quickly added, "But you can't tell anyone I said that, alright? It's not like it even matters. There's no way to break apart Troy and Gabi. They've been through too much together."

Sharpay then looked as though she were about to vomit. "Gabi?!? You're on nickname basis, now?"

Ryan glared at her and she shut up. He had never glared at her before.

"Geez. Sorry. But seriously…I think I have a plan. A way to break up Troy and Gabriella. See…Troy and I are just…meant to be together. Everyone can see that—and DON'T say 'Everyone except for Troy'!—and you have a…mysterious crush on little Miss goody-two-shoes. It'll work out perfectly.

"We don't try out for the talent show," she elaborated. "We let them get the lead roles. But _**we **_choreograph the musical. We both have extreme talent when it comes to theatrics, but Troy and Gabriella…not so much. They need our help to shine. So you will teach Gabriella all the dance moves and I will teach Troy. They'll each get private tutoring lessons from us. Separately. Oh, and don't worry…I already made sure that this musical has a bouncy, duet feel. That way, they'll have to learn a LOT of partner dance steps."

Ryan eyed her suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

Sharpay shrugged uncaringly. "I had a little talk with Kelsi and made sure it would happen, that's all. I figured it might be nice to know exactly what type of dances we were going to choreograph."

Ryan gaped at her. "You planned this from the beginning! That's what you were telling Kelsi to do! I swear, Shar, you've got to leave poor Kelsi alone."

"Oh, please. Don't stick up for her, too. She's equally as responsible as Troy and Gabriella for us losing out the lead roles in the winter musical. Don't tell me you have a crush on her, too. Isn't she dating Jason?"

Ryan thought for a moment. "I really don't know. I mean…he did what? Help her shoot a basket and run around in the sprinklers? Why would they be dating? And I DON'T have a crush on her," Ryan said, full of conviction, but inside, he realized he had never given it much thought before. _I think…_

"Well, whatever, Ry. We are going to choreograph this musical. Are you with me?"

Ryan turned his head away and gave a quizzical look. "I don't know. I don't want to use Kelsi like that. She'd have to write the musical and practice with us, and…"

Ryan's newfound sense of morality seemed to be too much for him and Sharpay's plan was losing out fast. She had no choice. She had to use her brother's weakness against him.

"You could win over Gabriella. You could sing and dance with her everyday…all by yourselves," Sharpay said persuasively.

Ryan's heart jumped excitedly at the thought. It was his morals or his emotions. And emotion always won out in a natural dramatic actor.

"Alright. I'll do it," he said tentatively. "But go easy on Kelsi, okay?"

Sharpay's smirk became a full on naughty grin. "Anything for you, Ry. As long as we're in this together."

**Do you still like it or...is something (gasp) wrong? Seriously, tell me. Thanks, all. **


	4. Start of School

Ryan took a deep breath and walked slowly up to the front doors of East High. The homerooms had been posted. He closed his eyes for a moment and wished and prayed with all his heart that Gabriella would be in his homeroom. Oh, what he would give to be able to spend more time with her this year. He'd been cracking down recently on his academics (an area of his life in which he had been drastically slipping because of his intense focus on drama). That way, he would be able to take the same classes as her and keep up as best he could. Not to mention that if she ever wanted to have an intelligent conversation with someone, he might be better qualified than Troy for such.

When he finally opened his eyes, he was pleasantly surprised at how soon his prayers had been answered. Gabriella had walked up to the front doors to peek at the homeroom lists. Hoping not to make a fool of himself, Ryan strolled up as nonchalantly as possible and stopped right next to her. He stared at the door, watching Gabriella out of the corner of his eye. She was searching the lists on the door fervently for her name and hadn't noticed he was standing there yet. He wanted to stay "cool" and wait, pretending not to notice her either, but his close proximity to her had caused his stomach to flutter in such a way that he was sure he would explode if he didn't say anything. However, this flutter also made it impossible for him to articulate.

He resolved to clear his throat.

Gabriella looked up intently, still in "search mode", but her eyes lit up and she smiled broadly at the sight of him. And he did likewise as his heart leapt into his throat.

"Ryan! Oh my goodness, hi!" she said, giving him an impromptu hug.

Ryan was caught unprepared for this touch of affection and he merely made a strange "eh" sort of sound as she put her arms around him. Her warmth made his insides melt even more and he suddenly wondered if this was truly an answer to his prayers or some sort of punishment to make him look bad in front of Gabriella.

Fortunately, she was so busy hugging him, she didn't notice his inept speaking ability. When she pulled away much too soon, Ryan mentally kicked himself for not hugging her back.

"Happy first day of school," Gabriella told him.

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah. Happy. Right."

Gabriella's smile grew wider. "Yeah, I guess it's not so great, but hey! We're seniors this year. We rule the school."

Ryan put on his best fake macho face and puffed out his chest while saying confidently, "I already ruled the school..."

At last, Gabriella laughed heartily at his mockery. This gave him the best feeling in the world and he wouldn't have wanted to start the school day any other way.

"Did you find where our homerooms are?" he asked, again, hoping beyond hope that they were in the same one.

Gabriella sighed and pointed to the list. "We got Ms. Darbus again."

Ryan shrugged. "Figures. I've had her since freshman year. Once you're in a homeroom, you're pretty much locked in there for your entire high school career at East High. At least we're in the same homeroom," he dared to say.

Gabriella grinned and nodded. "True, true. Hey, where's Sharpay?"

Disappointed the conversation was now focusing on his sister, Ryan answered neutrally. "She's parking the car. She should be coming soon."

She inclined her head again and there was an awkward silence which disheartened Ryan.

"I guess I should go to homeroom now," Gabriella said, breaking the silence.

"I'll walk you," Ryan said automatically, hoping the desperation in his voice was not evident.

Gabriella was about to respond when her eyes darted over Ryan's shoulder at someone behind him. He watched her eyes and his heart sunk as he saw her expression change to one of pure, uninhibited joy. Only one person could put that gorgeous look on her face, and Ryan's heart ached with the desire to be that person. But he wasn't.

"TROY!" she called to him, rushing past Ryan to jump into her boyfriend's arms. He grinned as he hugged her back and some of the jealousy in Ryan settled down after seeing how sweet he was to her. He still had enough jealousy in him that, if it was poison, a single tiny dart would kill, but…Troy made Gabriella happy. Ryan couldn't help but envy and respect anyone who had the power to do that just with their mere presence.

"Hey, Ryan," Troy greeted cheerfully.

Ryan attempted to smile, managing to get the corners of his mouth to twitch slightly, but otherwise remaining unsuccessful. Oh, the humiliation.

"We're all in the same homeroom again, Troy," Gabriella said with more happiness in her voice than she had ever used while talking to Ryan. Suddenly, his heart seemed to drop clear out of his body and into the center of the earth where it subsequently melted and broke into a thousand pieces.

"Sweet. Hey," Troy said, holding out his arm to Gabriella to take, "walk with me?"

She giggled and grabbed his arm with both hands. "Love to." Then, she seemed to vaguely recall Ryan's earlier offer. "Come with us, Ryan?" Gabriella asked almost apprehensively.

Ryan again attempted a friendly smile unsuccessfully, his desire to walk with Gabriella now thoroughly squashed. "Nah, that's alright. You guys go ahead."

They smiled eagerly at him and walked into school. Ryan stood waiting at the front doors for his sister. At least he should walk in with somebody.

Almost as if on cue (wasn't she always?), Ryan heard his sister scream at him, "RYAN! Oh, thank goodness you waited for me. These stilettos are absolutely killing me. You have no idea how hard it is to walk through the parking lot and avoid Zeke and his posse from invading your face with baked goods. It's absolute torture."

When she got closer, she noticed Ryan was sort of staring off into space. She scoffed. Not Ryanland again. He needed to get out of that habit. School was starting for crying out loud!

"RYAN! Are you listening to me?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry about Zeke," Ryan said, mentioning the only name he had heard her utter.

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Was Gabriella here?"

Ryan shot her a look. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only a lot. Did you tell her about our idea? About the choreography?"

"No. I didn't know I was supposed to."

Sharpay groaned. "Must I do everything myself? I suppose you just let Troy waltz right up and steal her away from you."

Ryan nodded solemnly.

"I swear, Ry…you've got to get a backbone. We have Darbus again, correct?"

Ryan nodded, his eyes focusing on the ground.

"Oh, don't give me that sad, pouting introverted brother act. Just because school is starting doesn't mean you change your newly outgoing attitude. Especially not when you need it most. Think of Gabriella."

Ryan looked up now, but still merely nodded, lost in his depression.

"Ugh, you're so hopeless, Ryan. Come on, we've got to get to homeroom before the bell rings and at the rate my feet will carry me in these heels, it might take ten months. In fact, you might have to carry me halfway there."

Ryan simply shrugged. It's not like it hadn't happened before.

They started walking to homeroom. "I just cannot wait to tell Ms. Darbus our plan. She will be so ecstatic, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ryan said absently.

About ten steps later, Sharpay began to moan incessantly. "Oh. Ow. Eech. My feet. Oh…Ryan?"

Rolling his eyes, Ryan held out his arms and Sharpay giddily jumped into them, then faked exhaustion, forever the drama queen.

"You know I'm not walking into class like this," Ryan said knowingly.

"Why? You did last year!" Sharpay countered.

"That was before I had actual friends. Now, I care about my image."

Sharpay grunted. "How completely self-centered of you."

As they continued ranting, they walked by Kelsi's locker, completely oblivious to the fact that the young pianist was watching their every move. Or rather, Ryan's every move. She had always liked him. At least he had been civil to her all those years that Sharpay had picked on and bossed her around. He was the first boy she had ever really taken the time to get to know. And he was the first one to offer her unhindered friendship (besides, of course, Troy Bolton). But Troy just…wasn't her type. Kind as he may be, he was still the big-shot star of the school, too popular for his own good, in addition to the fact that he already had a girlfriend when she had met him. Ryan was the strong, silent type. And she liked him for that.

Not to mention his hats were almost as stylish as her own.

But he would never see her that way. Not while Gabriella Montez was in the picture. Being a quiet observer, Kelsi knew all the goings-on at Lava Springs and the infatuation Ryan had with Gabriella seemed quite evident to her.

She only wished he felt the same way for her.

** Again, with the usual, please review and give me constructive criticism, comments, compliments, mention problems, etc. I would really like to hear from you. **


	5. Homeroom Surprises

Ryan huffed exhaustedly. He hadn't had to carry his sister around school since last June, so he wasn't used to this sort of wonky weight-lifting endurance exercise. Yoga was more his thing. When they approached the doorway that led to Ms. Darbus's room, Ryan held his head high and dropped his sister on the spot.

Sharpay let out a distressed and angry "humph" as she nearly fell on her bottom before gaining her balance.

"How rude, Ryan. I should think you would be proud and honored to carry East High's most primo girl into her classroom," Sharpay said arrogantly.

Ryan chortled a bit. "Yeah. Especially since I'm her brother. What a pleasure," he said sarcastically.

Sharpay glowered at him, but Ryan just rolled his eyes unaffectedly. Oh, how Sharpay hated his little confident streak. But, she supposed it was necessary for her latest scheme to succeed.

She fiddled with her hair a little, just to make sure it was not completely clinging to her face, and threw her hands out to her sides dramatically before prissily walking into class to make her grand entrance.

Ryan just looked down at his clothes to make sure that no hints were left that he had carried his sister halfway through the school. Good. No abnormally long, blonde hairs. He was safe to enter.

"Hello, everyone!" Sharpay said in her unnaturally chipper tone.

Everybody smiled cautiously at her and she was greeted with a few "hello's". Unsatisfied with the response, Sharpay simply stuck her chin up higher in the air and pretended not to notice anyone else.

Upon Ryan's entrance, however, he was met with a bunch of mismatched greetings, including slaps on the back from Chad, Jason and the jocks in their homeroom. Martha smiled at him and they exchanged a few words about the interesting books they had read over the summer.

As Sharpay took her seat, she began fuming on the inside at Ryan's sudden burst of popularity. He didn't even want the attention! He wasn't even trying for it! She was so much more stylish and likeable than her brother was. It didn't make sense. How entirely unfair.

Ryan, however, wasn't quite so happy about his greetings. Sure, he felt good to have all those friends, but he couldn't help but notice the lack of attention he was getting from a certain friend from whom he wanted a lot of attention. He saw with dismay that Gabriella and Troy were in the corner of the room, secluded from everyone else, "catching up" with each other.

He sighed and sat down at his seat, looking out the window. Perhaps the shapes of the clouds would give him some sort of hope or inspiration regarding his current situation…or perhaps he could just stare out the window and pretend he didn't notice Troy and Gabriella.

Ms. Darbus waltzed into the classroom (literally) seconds before the bell rang. She looked at her "new class" with a smile on her sweet façade of a face.

"Salutations, students. This is the beginning of the end of your school careers." This was followed by a few "whoops" which were immediately silenced by the Darbus death glare.

"As I'm sure you all know, how you perform this year shall be a deciding factor for your futures as human beings. And I'm sure that all of you will take this year seriously, and not treat it as merely a joke in which you perform pranks, get special privileges and pick on freshmen," she said, specifically looking to Chad, who gave her an innocent smile.

"Now, on with the school news. Sign-up sheets and meeting times for several school clubs are posted in the office. If you wish to join one, I suggest you go there. If you wish, however, to sign up for the fall musical," she said, sending a fleeting smile to the Evans twins as well as Troy and Gabriella, "you may come to the auditorium tomorrow during free period. Auditions must start early, as you know, so that the show may be as properly and beautifully prepared as possible."

Sharpay checked in the back corner to make sure that Troy and Gabriella were smiling happily, discussing the fall musical. They wanted to do it. She could tell. And that intuition was all she needed. She smirked as she slowly raised her hand.

"Ms. Darbus?" she said, drawing everyone's focus.

"Yes, Sharpay?" Ms. Darbus asked needlessly. She knew what Sharpay wanted to ask; it was the same question every year. 'For the musical, should I pick pink or blue for my dressing room's colors?' Ms. Darbus always told her blue. Sharpay always chose pink.

"I would just like to let you know that Ryan and I will not be auditioning for the musical tomorrow," she said, quickly delivering her blow.

Everyone's side conversations ceased and they stared in the direction of the Evans twins. This could not be possible. An apocalypse was surely coming. There was no way that Sharpay Evans had just said that she was not going to audition for a dramatic production.

Ms. Darbus tilted her head curiously. "Sharpay, I know you're confident in your acting and singing abilities. As am I, of course, but dear, you really do need to give others a chance! I mean, you can't just expect that I'm going to hand you the main part without auditioning. Remember the winter musical."

Sharpay just continued smiling, "No, that's not what I mean Ms. Darbus. I mean, Ryan and I are not going to audition because we don't want to be in the show."

Now, everyone was completely speechless. This made absolutely no sense. Pigs would fly before Sharpay gave up a lead role. Everyone looked out the window just to make sure no farm animals were floating up with the clouds Ryan was so busy staring at.

"Ryan and I feel that the winter musical was such a tremendous success that we don't even want to interfere with Troy and Gabriella's winning streak, assuming, of course, they get the main roles. We feel they have so much potential and we just want to share the spotlight with them."

Everyone just continued staring. They were all waiting for the catch. The part where Sharpay made it all about her. It had to be coming.

"Ryan and I just want to have one teensy little part in the musical."

At last. Sanity.

"We want to choreograph it. We believe in Troy's and Gabriella's singing abilities, but their dancing could use some work," she said. Then she quickly added to the couple in the corner, "No offence."

They just nodded, dumbfounded.

"So…what do you say, Ms. Darbus? Let us choreograph and Troy and Gabriella can star in this musical together."

Ryan was still looking out the window, but he was paying attention. This was the moment of truth. This answer from Ms. Darbus would determine how much time he would be able to spend with Gabriella this year. It would decide his entire future.

"Well…if you're sure that's what you want, Sharpay. I'd be happy to oblige. I'll have a talk with Kelsi later on and tell her that she will be working closely with you and Ryan on the dances. As for Mr. Bolton and Miss Montez…it's too soon to say who will get the lead roles, but as theater alumni, I'm sure their chances are very great. And your recommendation for them as the leads is very compelling."

Sharpay just grinned triumphantly and Ryan finally tore his gaze from the window, a small, relieved smile plastered on his face.

"Well…I've completely forgotten what I was going to say. Oh, well. No cell phones. Remember that," Ms. Darbus said, still completely baffled by Sharpay's decision.

Jason started to raise his hand, but Chad grabbed his arm and pulled it down.

"Not this year, man. No more sucking up to the teachers."

Jason nodded sheepishly and decided to forego asking Ms. Darbus how her summer had gone.

Troy and Gabriella sat in the corner, looking at each other in suspiciously. There was no doubt that Sharpay had something up her sleeve, but if Ryan was involved, it couldn't be too drastic. After all, he had been the one to bring them back together and he would never do anything to hurt their relationship.

Ryan was celebrating his victory internally, but wondering why it didn't quite feel as great as he had hoped it would. Perhaps when he and Gabriella actually got to dance together, their bodies in wonderfully close proximity, he would feel differently. Perhaps when he could be near her without Troy barging in. Perhaps when he and Gabriella could have heart-to-heart talks together, alone in the practice room. Perhaps when Troy and Gabriella were not sitting in the corner of the room, trusting him completely as he betrayed them.

**Let me know if you found any errors in one way or another. Heck, let me know if you simply liked it! I would love to hear from you. Thanks so much! **


	6. Love Pentagon

The rest of the first day of school slugged by with the uneventful usual for Ryan. Papers needed to be signed or whatever and the really strict teachers had given him hardcore homework. There should be a rule against that, he decided. Especially since tonight was the night that he and Sharpay had to get the music from Kelsi for the upcoming musical and choreograph the whole thing. But not doing his homework could result in a failing grade for the start of the school year and he did NOT want to look dumb in any way, shape or form in front of the gorgeous Gabriella Montez.

After the last bell rang, Ryan went to his locker and proceeded to put his belongings and work in his backpack. As he was doing so, however, a voice came from behind him which sent pleasant shivers up his spine and nearly made his arm turn to gelatin and drop his books.

"So, Ryan…what's this about you and Sharpay not doing the musical?" Gabriella asked, not unkindly.

Taking a deep breath, Ryan turned around to look into her dark brown eyes. Fighting the urge to melt into a puddle, Ryan managed, "We-we just think you and Troy were really good in the winter musical, so…I don't know. We sort of wanted you guys to get the main parts in this one. Shar and I are interested in choreography as well, and it's hard to choreograph, memorize the lines, sing well, memorize the songs, rehearse and balance all of that with ordinary living and school work," he explained, holding up his homework for emphasis.

Gabriella looked at him skeptically, but eventually conceded. "That makes sense, I guess. I was just really surprised. I mean, I can understand you, maybe, wanting to concentrate on other things than starring in the musical, but…Sharpay? She doesn't strike me as the type that would back down that easily."

Shoot. _Please don't figure us out,_ Ryan thought. "Well, I…I kind of talked her into it. I said I wanted to focus on more behind-the-scenes theatrical stuff and get used to being in the background because we'll most likely have to start out that way in the 'real world' and whatnot. Not to mention I sort of knew you and Troy would want to try out for this one. Believe me, Sharpay would rather give up willingly and with a purpose than go down fighting. She's sort of a sore loser.

"But don't tell her I said any of that! She likes to think this is all her idea and if word gets out I called her a sore loser…well, let's just say she won't be the only sore one."

A smile lit up his face as Gabriella giggled at his warning. "I promise I won't tell Sharpay. And I can't wait to work with you guys on the dancing. I'll admit that Troy and I are nowhere near as talented as you guys when it comes to that. Your dancing was what made the spring musical so great!"

Ryan shrugged and tried to keep himself from turning entirely too red. "It was okay. Sharpay said it could have been way better."

"Whatever," Gabriella said rolling her eyes. "You guys are such perfectionists."

"Look who's talking Little Miss Straight A's," Ryan rebutted.

"Okay, fine. So we're all perfectionists…in our own little ways. That's what makes us such good friends, I guess," Gabriella said cheerily.

_Yeah, just friends…_ Ryan thought disappointedly.

"Gabriella! Come on, we've gotta go!" Troy's voice came from somewhere behind Ryan.

He turned around to see the basketball guy striding up to them, twirling his car keys on his finger. What a show-off.

"Oh, hey Ryan. Do you need a ride? Gabriella and I were just going to go hang out at my house. The first day of school was so hectic…we sort of need some down time, if you know what I mean," Troy said, winking at Gabriella as he spoke.

Ryan was trying to keep the vomit in his throat from making it all the way out.

Gabriella giggled almost hysterically. And Ryan was again distraught to note that her giggle at Troy's comment had been more genuine than the small laugh he had managed to get from her.

"Stop it, Troy. It's nothing bad, Ryan. We're just going to go study and do homework, right?"

"Hm…study. Sure, let's go with that," Troy said, leaning over and kissing her as she smiled.

Ryan felt his insides bubbling and was about ready to hear the sound a pot makes when the water is done boiling come out of his ears, so he decided that now was a good time to make his departure.

"Uh, well, thanks for the offer, but…I'm going to hitch a ride with Sharpay. I can see you guys are busy, anyway."

Troy frowned at him. "It's okay, really. We really are just going to hang out and do homework."

Ryan attempted a smile. "I know, I know. But seriously, it's okay. I've got to go find Sharpay and Kelsi anyway and get to work on your musical. See ya."

"Bye, Ryan! I can't wait to dance with you!" he heard Gabriella call after him. He turned slightly, in the hopes of seeing an ecstatic Gabriella waving after him, but was crushed once more at the sight of Bolton smothering his lips against hers. This time the vomit made it all the way up to his mouth and he had to swallow it back down.

He was too distracted to notice the shorter figure coming at him, and she was too engrossed in fixing up her new piece of music. Needless to say, the rammed into each other head-on.

"Ouch!" cried Kelsi as she fell to the floor, stunned. Ryan remained upright, but was equally as shocked by the impact.

"Kelsi? Oh, man, I'm sorry. I didn't see you," Ryan apologized.

He offered his hand to help her up and Kelsi grabbed it. As she did so, a feeling of warmth swept through her, causing her to be unable to express her gratitude.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit you like that. I'm really sorry," Ryan said.

"It's okay, Ryan," Kelsi said, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

"Hey, have you seen Sharpay? I need to ride home with her and we need to talk about the musical—," Ryan was cut off by a rather loud shriek.

"RYAN! There you are. Uh, I was looking all over for you. You weren't by your locker. I found Mr. And Mrs. Troy Bolton smooching up a storm in front of it, though. And…oh! Good, you've found Kelsi." Sharpay said giddily. "Fork over the music, sister."

Kelsi sighed, but handed her songs to both Ryan and Sharpay.

Sharpay seemed to study the music very closely, as if to make sure all had turned out according to her deepest wishes. Slowly she nodded.

"Not bad. Not too upbeat, so it's still partner dancing. And not too slow, so it's not like they're going to just have to stand there and gaze lovingly into each other's eyes. Gross. What do you think, Ryan?"

Ryan was paying much closer attention to the lyrics and the work that must have gone into creating these songs. "These are fabulous, Kelsi. How do you think of this stuff?"

Kelsi shrugged. "It just comes to me, I guess. It takes practice and I have a lot of free time, so…"

"Whatever. Yeah, yeah, nice job. Ryan, come on. We've GOT to get started on this choreography and get it down pat tonight so that in two days, we can have our first rehearsal. This has to be perfect," Sharpay said, taking out her keys. "I'll meet you at the car."

Ryan looked at the music, then back at Kelsi. "Thanks, Kels. I really appreciate this. You have no idea what this means to me."

Kelsi's heart dropped several stories. If he and Sharpay were choreographing, it meant that Troy and Gabriella would need to be taught by them. She was pretty sure she did know what this meant to him…and she wasn't sure if she liked helping in that way.

"No problem," she said softly, looking to the ground.

Not liking to see his friends unhappy after being picked on by Sharpay (which Ryan assumed was the reason for Kelsi's sadness), Ryan grabbed Kelsi's hand and gently placed a kiss on the top of it.

Kelsi looked at him in shock. Had Ryan Evans just kissed her? She thought for sure that at that very moment, she would wake up. She pinched herself. Nope. That definitely hurt.

"Hey, I'll see ya tomorrow, okay, Kelsi? Thanks so much for doing this," Ryan concluded.

Kelsi's eyes followed after him as he walked away from her once again. _You know, Kelsi,_ she thought to herself, _if you really want him to like you…maybe you should think about actually saying something next time…_

His promise to see her tomorrow had left her somewhat content, though. Tomorrow would be the start of a bittersweet musical. She would play the piano while Ryan taught his crush, Gabriella, how to dance. Sharpay would probably play a recording while she taught Troy, on whom she also had a crush, how to dance. And Troy and Gabriella would be learning how to dance so that they could display their love and chemistry with each other on stage. Kelsi couldn't help but think that this was one complicated love…pentagon.

** Please review and let me know what you liked about this chapter and what could have been done better. Thank you. **


	7. First Dance Lesson

**A/N: Hey. Not much to say except sorry for the wait. Been busy, sick and had temporary writer's block. I hope you can forgive me for those ailments. :) Enjoy the chapter that begins the actual plot, I believe.**

Ryan paced nervously on the stage. The past two days had been…chaotic, to put it lightly. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Gabriella, or anyone besides his sister, because he had been working painstakingly hard on the dance routines for the fall musical. He had managed to sneak away from Sharpay long enough to watch the auditions. Troy and Gabriella were the only ones signed up for the lead roles, and when Ryan heard her sing the songs he was choreographing, he couldn't help but smile at the sheer perfection of it.

Now, he stood in the auditorium on the stage, walking back and forth anxiously. Today was his first dance lesson with Gabriella as his pupil. He was trying to figure out the best way to greet her.

"Oh, hey, Gabriella. Are you ready to shake it?" he tried. He shook his head furiously to get the bad implications of that statement out of his mind. Maybe that approach was a little too blunt.

"Gabriella Montez? My name is Ryan Evans and I shall be your dance instructor today." If he had been drinking milk, the waterfall that would have spurted from his nose would have rivaled Niagara Falls. How much more cheesy could he get?

He was still laughing to himself and trying to figure it out when Gabriella burst into the scene.

"Hey, Ryan! I'm ready for my dance lesson!" she said giddily. Ryan turned to her and tried to say something, but found his tongue had become deadweight and merely waved.

Gabriella scampered up onto the stage and smiled brightly up at him.

"Hey, I haven't seen you for awhile. What's up?" she asked pleasantly.

Trying to push the butterflies back down into his stomach, Ryan answered, "Yeah, Sharpay and I have been working pretty hard on these dances. So you'd better appreciate this," he warned.

She laughed. "Of course I do! I think it's really sweet that you guys are doing this for me and Troy."

_Right, _Ryan thought dryly. _For you and Troy…_

"So…" she said, looking around, "Are we gonna start or what?"

"Um, yeah. We just have to wait for Kelsi to get here."

Gabriella nodded and they stood in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Kelsi saved the day and rushed through the doors of the auditorium.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. I had to go give Sharpay a copy of the song on CD so she and Troy could practice," she said.

She climbed up the stairs to mount the stage and seated herself at the piano.

"CD?" Gabriella asked. "Why do we get Kelsi and Sharpay gets a CD?"

Ryan shrugged, "Sharpay likes CD's better. They 'don't mess up' or something. I, however," he said, pointing to himself proudly, "enjoy having the music played right behind me. Not only does it make for a more artistic and realistic atmosphere, it's also easier to tell Kelsi to play measure 52 than it is to try to rewind the CD to that exact moment. Right, Kels?"

Kelsi, who had only been half-listening simply nodded and continued to situate herself at the piano bench.

"Okay, first thing's first. This one is like a ballroom dance. We've got to get into position," Ryan said, straightening his upper body and holding his arms out in front of him. "Your right hand goes in my left hand. And your left hand goes on my right shoulder."

Gabriella nodded and concentrated on positioning herself correctly.

"Now, my right hand goes on your waist, okay?" Ryan said, trying to keep the apprehension out of his voice. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"I know. I've seen movies, Ryan. It's no big deal," she said indignantly.

_Maybe not to you, _he thought.

Now that they were securely in position, Gabriella looked up at Ryan expectantly. He shook his head to reorient himself and looked over his shoulder at Kelsi.

"Kelsi…um…how about we work on the chorus for today. Start at measure 20, I think it is," Ryan instructed.

Kelsi, who had been trying to hide the bitter look on her face while watching Ryan and Gabriella get comfortable, nodded curtly and played the intro to the chorus.

"Alright," Ryan said, glancing back at Gabriella. "Don't sing. Just follow my lead, okay?"

Gabriella nodded and kept her mind moving. She decided, much to Ryan's dismay, that it would be best to watch his feet to follow him.

Ryan internalized the tempo, which was much slower than he was used to, and began his movements. He made sure that Gabriella stayed with him the entire time, guiding her body along with his. If she ever missed a beat, he made sure to continue on and make a note of it in his mind to correct later.

Kelsi tried to keep her eyes on the music, even though she already had it completely memorized and weaved into her brain. Every now and then she would look up and glare in jealousy at the couple that was dancing lightly across the stage. But neither of them was ever looking at her, so she was safe in knowing they wouldn't notice.

She was pleased when she finally reached the last note of the chorus and stopped.

Ryan let go of Gabriella and moved his head from side to side critically. "Not bad for your first try. You're a pretty good follower."

Gabriella took the compliment to heart. Coming from Ryan, that was certainly saying something.

"Unfortunately, I doubt being a good follower is going to be good enough when dancing with Troy," Ryan said. "No offense, or anything."

Gabriella laughed. "None taken. The only times I've ever danced with Troy, we pretty much did our own thing. We danced _with_ each other, but it was still individual, you know. I've never done anything like this."

Ryan nodded. "Well, what do you say we run it through one more time. I've got to be somewhere in a little bit. But don't tell Sharpay that," Ryan said, holding his finger to his lips.

Gabriella put a hand over her mouth and said, "My lips are sealed."

"Good," Ryan said.

This was it. The moment he had been waiting for all day. He took Gabriella's hand in his and when he put his other hand on her waist this time, he made sure to put it a little farther onto her back, forcing her to stand closer to him. It was the little things that made him nervous.

Gabriella felt her body press closer to Ryan's and, for a moment, she wondered why. She shrugged it off. It didn't really matter. He knew what he was doing, she was sure.

Ryan, however, was not so sure. He could feel her body against his and he was having a hard time keeping his heart steady. His pulse increased by about 1000 kilometers per hour when he realized he could feel her heartbeat on his chest.

But he noted, pleasantly surprised, that hers increased along with his.

"Okay," he managed to whisper. "Kelsi. Measure 20."

This time, he didn't even look back at her, but kept his eyes firmly on Gabriella, locking in her gaze and making sure she was not going to look at their feet the whole while this time around.

When the music started, Ryan pushed Gabriella backward, moving his feet to the beat as best he could, then pulled her back the other direction. They moved fluidly across stage several times. The footwork was still difficult, yes, but Gabriella found it much easier now. Maybe it was because she was no longer looking at his feet and concentrating so hard. Somehow, just looking in his soft eyes let her know what his next move would be and she followed along flawlessly.

When the final few measures played, Gabriella remembered that the dance had ended in a spin. Ryan let go of her waist and held his arm up, guiding her with his hand by twisting it and she spun out. They were far apart, held together only by the tips of their fingers, but Ryan gave a tug and Gabriella spiraled back into his arms just a little too roughly. She hit his chest hard, but he didn't falter. She tried to back off, but his arms wrapped around her, holding her there.

Ryan looked into her eyes and was positive that his heart was violating every speed limit known to man. But he realized with satisfaction that a blush was creeping up on Gabriella's cheeks and that her breath quickened as he held her body to his. He smiled gently and loosened his grip on her, allowing them both room to breathe.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well…that was…better. Much better," he said slyly.

Gabriella, however, was still breathing heavily. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to be able to do that AND sing at the same time. It's so…tiring," she said, out of breath.

Ryan chuckled. "That's why we practice for at least an hour everyday after school. Except Tuesdays and Thursdays. We'll have to find some other time to practice on those days…"

Gabriella looked at him curiously, still panting, "Why? What's on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

Ryan held up his hand and pushed it back and forth, as if brushing the topic away. "Nothing important. Just…we'll have to find some other time those days, okay?"

Gabriella squinted at him, trying to read him, but that was difficult to do. "Okay."

She continued to look at him, though. Something about dancing with him made her feel so…safe. The way he held his body erect and guided her smoothly through all the moves was somehow comforting and thrilling all at the same time. And his eyes were very pretty as well. Almost as blue as Troy's, though a little softer…

She shut her eyes and rattled her head back and forth. Troy was the jealous type. If he had any idea that she was even thinking any other man was attractive, he would no doubt beat up Ryan. Though judging by the way Ryan had held her so tight, she also had no doubt Ryan would hold his own in a fight against Troy Bolton.

She bit her lip. Why was she so confused all of a sudden? She hadn't felt this way since the beginning of last summer when Troy had been such a jerk to her. And he wasn't even being a jerk now! She felt the irresistible urge to be near Ryan again.

"Hey, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Wildcat," Gabriella said, holding her arms out and walking up to Ryan.

She threw her arms around him, noticing how clean he felt, looked and smelled compared to Troy.

Ryan was caught off guard by her hug (again), but this time, she did not let go until he got the chance to put his arms around her as well. They stood, comfortable in the other's embrace, for awhile, then she let go and their worlds returned to normal.

"I'll see you," she whispered, and Ryan wasn't sure, it could have just been fool's hope, but he thought he detected a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

As he watched her leave, Kelsi watched him watch her leave. Her insides were bubbling with the purest form of jealousy and hatred mixed together and the scowl on her face was evident.

Ryan turned back to her and blinked, as though surprised to see her there. As he walked over to her, Kelsi fought hard to make her face more neutral, though she was fairly certain that a trace of a frown was still there.

"Hey, Kelsi, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I'm sorry we never really used you as an accompanist before. I always wanted to, but Sharpay never did. I really appreciate it," he said. The look of sheer gratitude that he gave her was enough to dissolve all of the envy in her heart and make her turn into a puddle.

"Right here," he said, changing the subject and pointing to the music, "I think we should quicken the tempo a bit. It's not your fault, it's mine. I'm not used to dancing this slowly, you know? Sharpay likes faster, flashy stuff. And that's what I'm used to. Don't make it too fast, you know. Just…faster. You think you can do that?"

Kelsi looked at the point in question and nodded. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

He smiled his adorable smile at her. "Great. Thanks so much, Kels."

He pulled her into a hug and she couldn't help but smile like an idiot as she buried her face into his chest. They both grinned widely at each other before he got up and left.

As he exited the auditorium, Kelsi stared at his butt. But when he was out of visual range, she pounded the side of her head with her fist. She should NOT be thinking like that. She sighed. That's what she got for being quiet. None of her perverse thoughts were verbalized, so they all stayed snug inside her head…a little too snug. She was perceived as completely innocent. Maybe that's why no guy liked her. They thought she was too pure to be broken. She looked down at her music where it now said "quicken tempo". A storm arose in her mind as a plan formulated itself and a semi-wicked smile plastered itself on her face. She wasn't just going to stand by and watch Ryan woo Gabriella. She grabbed her music and chuckled mischievously as she left the stage.

**Whether you want to give me positive encouragement to continue or you want to point out an error, something that doesn't make sense or some other constructive criticism, I would appreciate it.**


	8. Troypay and Tryouts

**I must give credit where credit is due: I'm no dance expert, so I needed to watch _Dirty Dancing_ to get a better feel and direction for all of this.**

"GRAH!! Troy, would you PLEASE try to stay with me?" Sharpay asked condescendingly.

Troy narrowed his eyes at her. "I would if you would just slow down! I told you already, I'm not used to this whole 'performing' thing. I can't learn if you're going to take it full-throttle from the get-go."

Sharpay stomped and huffed angrily. Troy was the hottest man alive, but he was certainly difficult to work with. She strutted over to her CD player and pressed the "rewind" button, tapping her foot in anger as she waited for it to return to the spot she needed.

Once it got to the desired place, she grabbed the remote for the stereo and stuffed it in her pocket. She hadn't thought she'd need it. Apparently, she had horribly overestimated Troy Bolton, so sit would definitely be a necessity for the remainder of their session.

"Okay, just follow my lead," she said stuffily. She managed to get him into formation (barely) and aimed the remote at the CD player. She pressed the play button and…

"TROY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? You don't move on the first beat, you idiot," she commanded. How thick could he be?

Troy rolled his eyes, "Why? That doesn't make sense, that's a whole beat of not moving."

Now it was Sharpay's turn to roll her eyes. "Because it's MY choreography. I know what I'm doing, Troy. Who's the expert on dance in this room?"

Although tempted to say 'no one', Troy obediently answered, "You are."

She smiled. "That's right. So what I say goes. And I say we start to move on the second beat of the measure, no sooner and most indubitably not later."

Troy furrowed his brow, confused, "Indubitably?"

"Oh, just shut your trap! You know what I mean. Now, let's try this one more time. _You_ follow _me_, got it? Good," she said, not waiting for his reply.

She had been too heated before to remember her true goal in all of this, but thankfully she had recuperated a bit by now, realizing that Troy was going to dance horrifically every time. The acceptance of that made it easier to think.

She put her hand on his shoulder, holding one of his in her other. She moved that hand to his opposite and placed it firmly on her hip, smiling up at him all the while. She pressed herself closer to him "For more control," she assured and she was pleased to see him visibly gulp.

She reached into her pocket quickly, pressing the play button and putting her hand back on his shoulder in a millisecond. She glared at him when the music started playing, making sure he stayed with her, but then the second beat came and she forcefully pulled him back with her as she began the tough choreography. Anyone watching the two would have guessed that Sharpay was flinging around a life-size Troy rag doll, but Sharpay noticed not her overbearing control. She was just pleased with herself and how she was performing perfectly. As long as Troy was staying with her, she could care less how distraught and lost he was. Indeed Troy was not learning any of the moves; he was just trying to keep up with Sharpay.

When the spin came, Sharpay gripped his hand tightly and pulled her own hand above her head, forcing his to come with it. She spun herself around, Troy trying to make sure she didn't break off any fingers in the process, and pulled out. Unfortunately for Troy, her hand slipped as she spun away from him and the entire thing was ruined.

"Ugh! And we were doing so well! Why couldn't you just keep your hold on me, Troy? You totally messed everything up," she said, pouting.

"Geez, sorry," he said semi-sarcastically. He lowered his eyebrows and crossed his arms in front of his chest angrily.

Noticing this, Sharpay immediately ordered herself to calm down. If she was going to get Troy to like her, constantly ragging on him was not the answer…no matter how much he deserved it. She took a few soothing, deep breaths and calmly continued.

"Oh, it's not your fault, Troy," she said softly.

He shot his head up to look at her, completely taken aback. "Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah…it's this freaking music! It's so slow! It needs to be faster. I'm going to have to have a talk with Kelsi."

Troy didn't know whether to be happy that Sharpay had not blamed him for anything, or to be furious that she was now blaming Kelsi. He sighed, favoring the former. What more could he expect from Sharpay Evans?

She looked down at her watch. "It's 3:45. We've got plenty of time. Let's run it through again."

Troy, however, looked up at her abruptly. "It's 3:45 already? Oh man, I'm sorry, Sharpay, but I've got to go. I need to be somewhere."

She threw her arms out in disbelief. "What? Where on Earth do you need to be?"

He rushed out the door, but peeked his head back in to answer her question quickly.

"Baseball tryouts."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Troy rushed into the gym, now thoroughly out of breath trying to make sure he made it in time. It hadn't helped that he'd needed to stop to grab his glove, cleats and baseball pants from his locker. He was met by Chad, who grinned widely at him in relief.

"There you are, dude. We were getting worried. Where were you?" he asked curiously.

"Dance lessons with Sharpay," he answered quickly.

Everyone else gave him a pitying look. Everyone but Zeke. "Aw, man. I would give anything for that. How great is it, spending that much time with Sharpay?"

Troy just stared at him. "Um…yeah…great."

"I highly doubt that," came a voice from behind him. Troy twisted around and came face-to-face with Ryan Evans.

Chad's face lit up with glee. "Evans! Hey, man, you made it," he said excitedly as the two gave their customary 'secret' handshake.

Ryan smiled as well. "Yep. I promised."

"You did? I don't remember this…" Troy said, looking to Chad for an explanation.

Chad's smile faded and he opened his mouth to attempt a clarification, but thankfully Ryan cut him off.

"He asked me to tryout for the East High baseball team this year. You know, since we played a little during the summer," he clarified.

Troy simply nodded slowly, a little disheartened that his best friend had neglected to mention that Ryan Evans would be competing against them and their friends to make the team.

"Alright, boys, let's get started!" came the voice of the coach, followed by clapping and whistling to summon them.

They started to run over to the coach, but Ryan grabbed Troy by the arm and gave him a look that was more serious and commanding than Troy had ever seen. Troy was a little scared by this; it reminded him, creepily, of Sharpay.

"One thing, Bolton," Ryan said sternly.

"What?" he asked warily.

"DON'T tell Sharpay about this," he said, then let go of Troy and joined the others in the middle of the gym.

Troy was left confused. Why wouldn't Ryan want his sister to know that he was trying out for the baseball team? He shrugged it off, however, and shuffled over to the others.


	9. Deception and Anger

Dinner that Thursday evening in the Evans household was so rudely interrupted by a cacophonous ringing of the telephone.

The sound sent Ryan's heart leaping into his throat and he scrambled up quickly to answer it, mumbling an apology to his parents, with whom he had been sitting and conversing. But, try as he might to answer the phone quickly, Sharpay was quicker. She had been standing nearer to the phone in the first place. It really wasn't fair.

"Hello?" she inquired with a chipper voice into the receiver.

Ryan stared at the phone in her hand warily and listened in vain to the jumbled sounds emitting from it.

"No, he's not here right now. This is his sister. May I take a message?" she said slyly. Ryan grappled for the phone, but Sharpay merely slid further away from him.

She often did this to him. She would pretend he wasn't there just so that she could get any little scoop into his life through a discreet message.

And she was about to get more than she bargained for.

Ryan saw the smirk on Sharpay's face fall into disbelief as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line.

"He…what?" she asked incredulously.

The voice repeated what it had just said and Sharpay shook her head needlessly. "No, I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, there's no way my brother could have tried out for the baseball team…Well, yes, his name is Ryan Evans, but…no, he hasn't been in an accident which would leave him indisposed…"

Ryan slapped his hand to his face in embarrassment. He peeked through his fingers to his parents who were watching the scene in amused silence.

Sharpay just kept nodding, a solemn look overtaking her face. "Yes, sir, I understand. I'll let him know. Thank you," she said lowly as she hung up the phone.

A few moments of silence followed, allowing Ryan to brace himself for the explosion he knew was coming.

Sharpay turned to him slowly, her blood visibly boiling.

"RYAN!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, though he was standing right in front of her.

"Apparently, _YOU_ made some sort of _BASEBALL_ team, a team which _I,_ by the way, had absolutely _NO_ idea you were trying out for! _EXPLAIN_!" she shouted, tapping her foot impatiently like a mother waiting for a naughty child to explain himself.

Ryan, however, completely ignored her question and perked up, "I…I made the team?" he asked hopefully.

Sharpay growled in fury, "YES! Yes, you did, Ryan. But will you kindly explain to me why I didn't know about this?!?"

Ryan mumbled, "Because I knew how you would react..."

But this did not stop Sharpay from fuming. "Do you realize how much this is going to affect our rehearsal schedule? This is going to severely cut down on our practice time!"

Ryan shook his head determinedly. He had already thought up his argument for this. "No it won't. It won't inhibit my dance lessons with Gabriella anymore than it will affect yours with Troy. He tried out for the baseball team, as well, you know."

Sharpay scoffed. "Well…yes. But who's to say he'll make the team?"

Ryan looked at her dryly. "He's Troy Bolton, Shar. OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO MAKE THE TEAM!"

Sharpay continued to visibly rage, but had no further arguments to voice to her brother.

"Well…let's just make it clear that I am NOT happy about this ONE BIT, Ryan Evans," she said, storming out of the room.

Ryan closed his eyes and attempted to take deep breaths before turning back to his parents, who were sitting with mouths agape at the dinner table.

He put on a cheerful smile, "Mom, Dad…I made the baseball team!"

"So we heard," his mother mumbled.

His father beamed at him. "Great job, son. We're proud of you."

Ryan smiled contentedly. That was all he ever wanted.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

The prospect of being a member of a real, live sports team made Ryan all the more animated and jovial at his dance lesson with Gabriella the next day.

"Hey, Ryan. What are you so happy about?" she asked suspiciously as she approached the stage.

Ryan shrugged modestly. "You're looking at a full-blown member of the Wildcats baseball team."

Gabriella's mouth fell open and she smiled in glee. "What? Oh my goodness, Ryan, that's so great! Congratulations!"

She gave him a big, congratulatory hug and his grin widened as he picked her up and spun her around a couple of times.

"So, are you ready for the dance lesson?" he asked deviously.

"Always," she replied.

Kelsi, who had actually been standing in the auditorium for quite some time now (and was growing more and more envious by the second) was finally noticed when the two looked out into the seats.

Ryan waved at her, "Hey, Kels! You think you could strike up your little piano and get us rolling?"

Normally, Kelsi would have been thrilled that Ryan Evans was actually talking to her, but not this time. As he had said it, he looked at Gabriella and wiggled his index finger, beckoning her to move closer to him. She watched in jealousy as the other girl sauntered over to him, giggling all the while.

_Snap out of it, Kelsi. You've got a plan to carry out,_ she told herself.

She made her way up to the piano and sat calmly and innocently at the bench before nodding to Ryan.

Ryan took her cue as he and Gabriella got into formation much smoother this time around. He made sure to pull her body closer to him, and, to his amazement and satisfaction, she didn't resist, nor did she seem uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, he thought he could see a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes, so he tightened his grip, making sure she could feel his every muscle and heartbeat.

Gabriella looked around nervously one last time. Every time she had hugged Ryan lately, an odd stirring had aroused in her stomach and she was endlessly curious as to why. She had to know. She had to experiment. And she had to make sure Troy was not around to see…

Kelsi watched the couple get situated before cracking her knuckles and positioning her fingers lightly above the keys. Her plan was ready and raring to go.

As the lilting melody started, the two figures began to move as one across the stage. Ryan made sure to make every turn and twist as deliberate as possibly so Gabriella could feel his body working. Gabriella made sure she pressed closer to him so she could feel his entire aura. Eventually, still dancing impossibly smoothly, their bodies came so close together that they could not press any closer.

_So much for keeping individual dance space,_ Ryan thought dryly.

When their bodies became so intertwined that they could be no nearer, their faces began to pull toward each other and became warm. The room became a sauna. They closed their eyes, their faces inches apart…

_BLAM!_

The moment was interrupted by a loud clanging of piano keys. Kelsi watched in satisfaction as the would-be pair fell awkwardly to the ground in surprise.

Mission accomplished.

Or so she thought.

To her utter disdain, she noticed that, by some miracle, they had managed to fall so that Gabriella was now lying on top of Ryan, who was still holding her so that she could not move.

Divine Providence did not like Kelsi Neilson.

The other two locked eyes, dark brown meeting icy blue, and blushed profusely, realizing that they had landed in a rather compromising position. Ryan immediately let go of Gabriella and the two quickly shot up from the ground. He coughed awkwardly and she dusted off, neither of them making further eye contact.

Well…maybe Divine Providence liked her a little bit, she thought, pleased at their uneasiness.

"Sorry," she chimed in, feigning obliviousness. "A fly must have landed on my hand or something. I kind of lost control there."

The next thing that came out of Ryan's mouth was completely compulsive, as he was angry that his opportune moment had been ruined. In any normal situation, he would never even think of saying such a thing. But now it was apparent that he was, indeed, the brother of Sharpay Evans.

He gave Kelsi a snotty look and sneered, "Maybe this is why Sharpay prefers to use a CD all the time."

Okay, she took it all back. Divine Providence REALLY hated her.

Kelsi merely sat in humiliating shock for a few moments and stared at Ryan, the beautiful boy of her dreams who now hated her. She could feel the inevitable tears well up in her eyes and silently cursed the fact that she was such an emotional person and was so easily hurt.

Impulsively, she jolted up from her seat and ran haphazardly down the stairs from the stage, tears now streaming down her face as she sobbed.

Seeing her tears made Ryan realize what a horrible mistake he had made and a horrific feeling pulled at his insides.

"Kelsi, wait! Oh, God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that. I wasn't thinking! Kelsi!" he cried after her, apologizing incessantly after her quickly shrinking figure before she ran out of the auditorium.

His brow was wrinkled in anguish as he looked back at Gabriella. He shook his head, not knowing what to say to her.

Gabriella looked at him as though he was a dirty, worthless man, and that hurt worse than anything else in the world. His emotions had gone from floating on cloud nine to drowning in the deepest ocean.

"I-I'm gonna go see if Kelsi is okay. She's probably in the bathroom or something," she said, rubbing her hand nervously across her other arm. "I'll see you, Ryan," she whispered. She, too, flew quickly out of the room, confused by her feelings and the way Ryan had acted. It was so out of character and came out of nowhere. She didn't understand how someone so sweet could turn on a dime like that. It confounded her and she needed to get away from him to think for awhile

Ryan watched after her, his heart continually dropping in his chest. Now he had lost the two greatest friends he currently had and made sure that his chances with Gabriella were swirling irrevocably down the drain.

Perfect. Just perfect.

**Send me a prediction, a suggestion, a criticism, a compliment, anything. Just let me know you're reading this and whether or not you're enjoying it. If not, tell me _why_ and I will try to fix it. It would be much appreciated.**


	10. First Baseball Game

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Enjoy. :)**

"Strike three, you're out!" came the obnoxious voice of the umpire as Ryan pitifully swung and missed the relatively slow-moving baseball.

He silently cursed himself for missing such an easy throw. He imagined the coach was not going to be pleased…

He was right.

"EVANS! What was that?!? If you had played like that in the tryouts, you wouldn't have made the team. What's wrong with you today, boy?" he asked, his ruddy face turning red from anger.

Ryan removed his helmet and threw it carelessly to the side. "I just…I've been having a hard time at school lately," he said quietly.

But the coach did not seem to care. "Oh, I see. And you think you're the only one with problems? Well, let me tell you something. EVERYBODY has problems on this team, but EVERYBODY else is working through them. The way you're playing we'll never get to the playoffs. So, let me just get this through you're head. SUCK IT UP AND PLAY!"

Ryan flinched, but nodded nevertheless. He took a seat at the end of the bench in the dugout and hung his head in self-pity before running a hand through his hair. He needed to get it together. But that was hard to do when his two best friends suddenly hated him. And worse, it was all his fault.

"Yo, Evans," Chad said in a calmer voice than usual. "What's up with you?"

Ryan looked up at Chad, shaken out of his reverie. "Oh. Uh…nothing really. I've just got some stuff going on."

Chad rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to give me more than that, man," he said, taking a seat next to Ryan.

Ryan shook his head and smiled sadly. "No, I, uh…I really can't."

Chad's eyes widened. "Is it family oriented?"

Ryan sighed and shook his head negatively.

"Is this about…a girl?"

Ryan felt his heart thump louder and faster in his chest. He swallowed hard before nodding decisively.

Chad put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. "It's not…Taylor, is it?"

Ryan breathed a sigh of temporary relief before again shaking his head.

"Okay, good. Wouldn't want you crushing on my girl, dude. Much as I would understand why you would check out such a fine specimen," Chad said suggestively, rolling an "r" and clicking his tongue at the mention of his girlfriend.

Ryan chuckled nervously. It was a good thing it wasn't Troy asking him these questions.

"Well, who is it then?" Chad asked curiously, pressuring Ryan.

Ryan shook his head. "I'm sorry, man. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that…it's complicated," he summed up cryptically.

Chad looked disheartened, but nodded in acceptance. "Well, it's okay, man. Just know that if you ever need a dude to talk to, I'm here," he said, patting Ryan on the shoulder.

Ryan smiled at him in gratitude before Chad walked off. He turned his head to see who was batting next. Horrified, he realized that it was Troy. Ryan was set to bat after Troy. There were two outs, so his only hope for not letting down the team again was if Troy got out.

Talk about false hope.

He watched in sinking dismay, but not unexpectedly so, as Troy hit the ball into right-center field, sending the players scrambling for the ball as the bases became loaded.

The coach was laughing and seemed confident enough in his team's ability to win. They were down by one point in the bottom of the ninth inning and apprehension filled the atmosphere. When he looked at who was next in the lineup, however, the coach's face fell and became pale. Perhaps they really didn't have a chance.

Slyly, the coach pulled Chad over and said, "It's your turn, boy. Get up there and hit it out of the park!"

Chad first nodded unquestioningly and grabbed a helmet; however, something the coach had said reminded him of Ryan when he had first played with him. Chad snuck a look at the lineup and turned back to the coach, shaking his head.

"Coach? There must be some sort of mistake. It's Ryan's turn to bat," Chad said matter-of-factly.

The coach stiffened and looked at Chad nervously. "Oh…right. I knew that. But…come now, Danforth. Surely you've noticed that Evans's play is a little…off today."

Chad shrugged. "Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean that we should just skip him. He has a right to bat as much as the rest of us. Not to mention it's kind of illegal to change the lineup in the middle of a game…"

Coach darted his eyes back and forth skittishly, seeing the umpire finally came over to the dugout.

"Is there a problem here? You're holding up the game," he said gruffly.

Chad shook his head. "Nope. No problem here, sir. We were just discussing our strategy."

The umpire grunted. "Well, hurry it up. The rest of us all want to get this game over with and go home."

Chad and the coach nodded simultaneously, following the umpire's retreating figure with their eyes and breathing sighs of relief that the umpire had not caught wind of their nearly illegal play.

Meanwhile, Ryan was doing the same. He had overheard the entire conversation and felt tears well up in his eyes. He hadn't known anyone besides Sharpay to stick up for him in any way. Chad's defensiveness for him suddenly gave him a warm feeling in his heart.

Chad walked over to Ryan and handed him a helmet and a bat. "Good luck, man. Hit it out of the park."

Ryan grinned at him and grabbed the equipment before stepping out onto the field. He walked toward the batter's box and gave a couple of practice swings before nodding to the pitcher, signaling that he was ready.

As the pitcher wound up, Ryan's feeling of acceptance seemed to drain. Chad had given him a feeling he did not deserve by standing up for him. Perhaps he should have stood up for Kelsi more than he did yesterday.

Before he knew it, the ball was out of the pitcher's hand and heading straight for him. Unfortunately, his mind was preoccupied and he didn't swing at the perfect pitch.

"Strike one!" the umpire shouted. The hometown crowd booed and complained before beginning to cheer Ryan on again.

Ryan took a step back and shook his head. He needed to concentrate. Get over it, he told himself, and get on with the game. The team was counting on him.

The pressure he felt was building up to an uneasy knot in his stomach. If he messed up, the entire game would be on his shoulders and he would be a laughing stock for the rest of the season. He realized that this pressure was similar to the pressure he had placed on Kelsi to play the piano perfectly. Perhaps if he had given her more leniency…

"Strike two!"

Ryan shook his head. He hadn't even seen that one coming. The crowd was yelling something about it being too low to be a strike, but Ryan really had no one to blame but himself.

He took a step back and analyzed his position. Bases loaded. Two strikes. One down in the bottom of the ninth.

He grumbled. How much more pressure could they put on him?

Ryan rolled his shoulders and surveyed the crowd of East High parents and students. He was looking casually until his eyes settled on a familiar gaze.

Kelsi.

For a moment, the two simply stared neutrally at each other. His heart began to pump wildly, afraid that his own piercing stare might break her, but she just continued to ogle.

Wait a minute. Why was she here? She had no siblings on the baseball team and she wasn't friends with any of the team members…

Except for him.

It hit him like a ton of bricks. She had come to watch him play baseball, despite the fact that he had hurt her. Ryan felt a sense of forgiveness emanate from her stare and he smiled slightly at her. He watched in joyous satisfaction as her lips curled shyly into a returned smile. They would be okay now. At least until he had a chance to talk to her after the game and officially apologize. But it would be all better then.

With a clear conscience and a new sense of strength, Ryan walked up to the plate and glared at the pitcher. He would not let his team down. He would not let himself down. And he would not let Kelsi down.

The pitch came in a perfectly straight line. Ryan let all of his feelings of frustration, sadness and anger flow into his swing and as he struck the ball, he felt them lift out of him, like a burden much too heavy to carry. Everyone watched in anticipation as the ball soared higher and higher. People in the bleachers stood up, the base runners stood stock still, as did Ryan, the coach shut his eyes and crossed his fingers, and Chad's eyes grew wide.

Finally, the ball fell faster and faster until it landed behind the backboards of the field—signaling a homerun. Cheers rang through the air and the coach slammed down his clipboard like it was a football after scoring a touchdown.

Ryan had just won the game.

The East High baseball players ran into the middle of the field and celebrated their victory. The loudest of cheers, though, came not from the baseball field, but from a small girl in the bleachers who had just seen her hero win the game for her.

Perhaps her devious plan was not completely implausible.

**Well…it **_**is**_** a Disney movie, peeps. Stuff like this is bound to happen in canon, so…why not stick to it:) Leave me a review telling me how cheesy and cliché it is and criticize my work to your heart's content, or tell me you're one of the few who actually enjoys cheese, thank you very much. Either way, I'm looking to better my writing, so…be sure to tell me **_**why**_** you did not enjoy this if that is indeed the case. Thanks. **


	11. Climactic Pressure

**A/N: Sorry for the extensive wait. If this seems forced at any point, that's because it was painful to write a chapter with little or no Ryan in it. Enjoy, anyway. Here begins the climactic part of the story...finally.**

**

* * *

**All this time that Ryan had spent breaking and mending interpersonal relationships did not hinder Sharpay's ability to keep her eye on the prize. In fact, breaking interpersonal relationships was a part of her job. At least…it was today. Today was the day that would decide the fate of their entire plan. It was up to her to carry out the most important and decisive part of the plot…and she was quite confident in her capacity to do so. 

She strutted into school that morning, even more outlandish and cocky than usual. She had used her old, seductive-smelling perfume and she had curled her hair into a flawless shape. Troy liked Gabriella's hair, right? And it was curly. So…why not go with curly to gain the boy's affinity? Her skirt was super-mini and her tank top was incredibly tight, but she knew that she would not be in trouble with the dress code. It was pretty much an unspoken rule that the Evans twins never got into trouble for such trivial things. Not only were they generally teacher suck-ups, but their parents also had significant influence on the school, being that Lava Springs Country Club was one of the school's highest sponsors. It was really best not to anger the powerful people.

Sharpay stopped at her locker and looked both ways before sneakily shoving her DVD camcorder into her locker. That was for later. She began to fluff up her hair and make sure she had an ample supply of makeup on while she looked in her locker mirror. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind her and Sharpay turned around brightly, hoping that it would be Troy.

"Oh! Hi…Zeke," she said dully once she discovered who the culprit really was.

"Sh-Sharpay?" Zeke stuttered softly. It was obvious that he was blown away by her beauty and it seemed that his jaw was glued to the floor.

She looked at him critically and shook her head slightly. "What?"

Zeke's mouth opened and closed sporadically. "You…you smell really good. Even better than the cookies I made this morning."

Sharpay shrugged. "I just naturally smell alluring, don't I?"

Zeke nodded numbly, his mouth still hanging open in awe. It was clear the he was spellbound by the witch of East High.

Sharpay, paying no attention to the poor man's infatuation, slammed her locker shut and waved behind her without looking back. "Toodles!"

Zeke continued to stare at Sharpay as she made her way down the hallway. Never would he meet such a beautiful and complex woman. And never would she notice such an average and innocent guy like him.

Once she made it to homeroom, Sharpay took her usual seat next to Troy. Unfortunately for her, Gabriella had managed to sneak into class before her and the two were already deep into a disgustingly lovely conversation about which movie they should go see that Friday. Fortunately, her perfume performed its magic and Troy's nostrils widened as he turned his head to find its source.

"Sharpay?" he asked in bewilderment.

Sharpay pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes confidently at him. "Yes, Troy?"

"Did you…get a haircut or something?" Suddenly, Troy's mouth had become very dry and his heart was doing flips as he stared at the beautiful woman beside him.

He shook his head wildly. He should _not_ be thinking things like that while he was dating Gabriella. Though, he had been seeing a lot more of Sharpay around school than he had his girlfriend, given that he had one hour dance practice with Sharpay after school nearly every day. But still, Gabriella was perfect. Why would he want anything more?

_Maybe you want excitement. Something new, something original. Something…dangerous. _His rebellious thoughts were getting out of hand. Sharpay's perfume was really getting to him. It was clouding his thoughts. He couldn't breathe properly. He turned his head away from her and stared at the floor, thinking that if he concentrated on a tile, he might forget about the siren seated next to him.

But Sharpay would make sure that she was not forgotten. "Oh, this? No, it's no haircut. I just decided to change it up a bit and curl it last night. Do you like it?"

Being the nice guy that he was, Troy felt compelled to answer politely…even though he really, sincerely meant every word he was saying and more. "Yeah…it's…it's nice."

Sharpay could sense the uncertainty in his voice and she squealed a little bit in triumph. As she sat down, Ryan came walking into the classroom. She noticed that he seemed very apprehensive, so she patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ry. I have total control over the situation. Just trust me on this," Sharpay comforted perkily.

Ryan gave a nervous smile before turning back to look at Gabriella. Her eyes locked on his and he held her gaze for a few moments. It would all be worth it in the end if those eyes could just look at him the same way they always looked at Troy. Not as a friendly gaze…but as something more.

The bell rang to signal the end of first period. Sharpay was in Troy's next class, as well. It was going to be a fun day.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

When the final bell rang, Troy gave a temporary sigh of relief. He was sweating, he had no doubt, and he was definitely hot under the collar. Sharpay's magnetic presence had been attracting him all day, and yet he wanted nothing at all to do with her. His head told him no, but his instincts told him yes.

So, when the end of the day finally arrived, Troy felt the weight of temptation drop from his shoulders…until Gabriella showed up at his locker and reminded him of what was to come.

"Hey, Troy! Today's the second-to-last dance lesson before the actual rehearsal is all put together. Are you ready?" she asked innocently.

Troy shut his eyes and gulped, restraining himself from banging his head against his locker. He still had one last "class" with Sharpay…alone.

"Oh…oh yeah. I'm ready. I can't wait until we put it all together," he coaxed. He pulled Gabriella closer to him and they relaxed into a kiss. Troy thought that a reassuring touch from his girlfriend would reaffirm his loyalty to her before he came face-to-face with enticement. He hoped he was right.

Gabriella grinned gleefully at him before turning and scuffling off to her own dance lesson with Ryan. Troy felt a pang of guilt. Why should he be feeling this attraction to Sharpay when he was certain that Gabriella felt no connection whatsoever with Ryan?

Right?

He shook his head. The constant presence of Sharpay's perfume seemed to have really messed with his head. He was confused beyond reason now and he was just ready for the day to be over. Unfortunately, it was not over…far from it.

Sharpay, meanwhile, had been setting up everything in the room. She made sure her curls would bounce as they moved and she sprayed just a tad more perfume…so little that it wouldn't give anyone a headache, but so much that it would definitely kick up Troy's anxiety. She smiled. That was, after all, today's ultimate goal.

She had just finished taking out her DVD camcorder when she heard Troy walk in behind her. She smirked and turned around slowly to face him, making sure that every body movement she made would cause him to stare in lust.

Indeed, Troy's face became a mask of guilty want. His eyes involuntarily skimmed up and down her body, just to be sure this was really the same girl his eyes normally passed right over. How had he never noticed her before…?

He shook himself out of his trance and groaned. Why was he thinking this way about another girl when he had the perfect girlfriend waiting for him after this one-hour dance lesson? He just wanted this lecture to be over with.

Fifty eight minutes to go. Joy.

He gulped, "Hey, Sharpay. What're you doing?"

Sharpay flashed a cheesy grin at Troy before sauntering up to stand in front of him. "Oh, I was just setting up the equipment. You know…getting ready to practice."

As she said this, she tried her best to let innocent adoration shine through her eyes and she placed a hand on his shoulder. Troy simply stared at her, afraid to move.

"What's, uh…what's the camera for?" he asked nervously, jolting his head toward the area where she had the DVD recorder set up.

"Oh, that? I'm filming our rehearsal today so I can watch it sometime and fix any mistakes we make," she muttered intimately, pushing her face closer to his. "Not that I think we'll make any."

Troy shut his eyes and cleared his throat loudly, signaling to Sharpay that she needed to back off. Of course, Sharpay knew what it meant…she just didn't want to comply. She eyed him worriedly, ever the actor. "Is something wrong, Troy? Do you need a cough drop?"

Seeing is window of opportunity, Troy quickly nodded, "Mmhmm, yes. I need a cough drop. Could you uh…ahem…go and get me one?"

Following this, he proceeded to burst into an obviously feigned coughing fit, but Sharpay was unable to do anything but remove herself from his personal bubble and search for her purse to find the unnecessary cough drop.

As soon as she had it in her grasp, she thrust it into his hands and said, "Alright, let's get going. We can't waste any more time."

Now, her mission really began.

As they effortlessly slid across the floor (the weeks of practice had provided an obvious improvement in Troy), Sharpay made sure to move her body much more seductively than usual. The red recording light on the camcorder flashed at her, reminding her just what she needed to get on this disc.

"Whoops!" she yelped, falling purposefully into Troy's chest. Luckily, just as she had imagined, Troy was quite the gentleman and he made sure that she did not fall to the ground. He lifted her up and they stared at each other for a few moments, both of their hearts beating incredibly quickly, much to Sharpay's surprise. Could she actually be…sincerely feeling something for him? No, no. It was all just a ploy. She was just such a fantastic actor, she even surprised herself!

Troy, on the other hand, was enamored by her. Something about Sharpay was very different today…and it wasn't just the perfume. Her normally icy aura had suddenly turned…red hot. Her entire atmosphere seemed to be dragging him in, pulling at his heartstrings…

But he couldn't. Not when he had so much going for him with Gabriella. What they had was love, and he knew it. This…this was just lust. There was nothing special about it at all.

He just hoped that he could keep this same mindset for the next 30 minutes or so.

Finally, they pulled apart, slowly and hesitantly. Sharpay fluttered her eyelashes innocently and deliberately cocked her head to the side, making sure that all of her best angles were visible to Troy.

"Well…I guess we should start over, eh?" she said softly.

Troy's head was buzzing now. He was so confused and he felt like he would topple over at any minute. His mind was playing games with him and so was his heart. He really didn't have time for games. He shook his head fervently before nodding in agreement with Sharpay.

They began to move in synchronization to the chorus as the CD played. All the while, Sharpay made certain to hold Troy's gaze. She forced herself to look her utmost pretty and confident. With the time she had left, she would accomplish her mission.

When the twirl began, Sharpay was ready. Troy allowed her to spin out so that their hands were only touching by the tips of their fingers. He gave a light tug and Sharpay spun effortlessly back into his arms. Only this time, when she came back, instead of quickly diverting back into the dance, she held her ground firmly and left Troy stuck holding onto her. Her back pressed against his chest and her face was right next to his, brushing his shoulder. All of Sharpay's past experience with acting came down to this one crucial, climactic moment. If she did not pull this off, the entire musical would be for naught.

Troy held Sharpay close. The music seemed to vanish and his heart was thumping wildly, shouting. He didn't know whether it was screaming for him to stop this or go in for the kill. His blue eyes widened at the sight of Sharpay's face so near to his own. They had reached an impasse. The both stood stock still, unsure of quite where to go from here.

Well…at least Troy was.

Once she knew she had him captivated, Sharpay acted hurriedly. She gradually moved her face closer to his until she captured his lips with her own. Troy's eyes went wide with shock before he pulled away nervously. His eyes projected his emotions as being stunned, confused and frightened, and his breathing was suddenly rapid. Sharpay did her best to match his emotions, but a secret smirk was hidden beneath her layers of lies.

Troy shook his head slightly, obviously distraught. "I'm sorry. I gotta go," he mumbled before clumsily slipping out of the room. Sharpay followed him with her feigningly innocent eyes until he was out of range.

Then, she allowed her hidden grin to show. Proudly, she jaunted over to her recorder and pressed the rewind button. She rewound the DVD to the part right before Troy had bolted out of the room, then she turned it off, erasing all evidence of her display of victory. History was recorded now. It would forever be known that Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans had kissed…willingly or not. She held up the disc and sneered.

If this didn't break up the magical couple and change the face of the most popular girl in school, nothing would.

* * *

**Hopefully this shall suffice until the next chapter. Review and point out my problems and/or strengths to me, if you please. I'd appreciate it.**


	12. Fateful Decision

**A/N: Enjoy and let me know how it turned out, please. Many thanks.**

* * *

Sharpay smirked and deliberately pressed the stop button on the remote before sinking back smugly into the expensive, fluffy, white couch. She stuck her chin up and rapidly turned to face her brother, who was sitting next to her on the sofa. 

"So…how was that?" she prompted eagerly.

Ryan, whose eyes were wide-eyed and disbelieving, was still staring at the television screen in shock. Of course he thought his sister capable of something like this; it was just strange to see it all play out on screen…and even stranger that he was inadvertently a part of it.

"It was…very believable," he said with a slight bit of hesitation, trying to keep the odd feeling of uneasiness out of his voice.

Sharpay, however, sensed none of his discomfort and merely squealed while simultaneously jumping up from the couch in proud glee. She scuttled over to the DVD player and popped out the disc, sure to carefully place it back into its container, so as not to damage the valuable blackmail.

She then turned to Ryan and gave him a hard glare, her eyes glistening with sheer controlling domination. She held out the container for him to take, and he reluctantly grabbed it from her, wincing almost as he did so.

"Don't let me down Ryan. Our entire plan rests on you showing this recording to Gabriella. I did my part, now you do yours," she commanded bitterly, making sure to look her most intimidating.

Ryan shifted uncomfortably under her gaze before looking back down at the disc. He couldn't quite place why, but he all of a sudden felt very uncertain about this whole scenario. Sure, he had been willing to play along in the beginning…but that was before things _actually _started to fall into place for the twins' plan. Usually, by this stage, their schemes had already failed miserably. He never really anticipated doing something like this. It felt…wrong, to put it simply. He wanted Gabriella so badly. But if this was the only way to break up Troy and Gabriella, maybe he truly didn't want any part of it.

"And…should I choose not to do my part?" he asked neutrally, trying to make it sound like an honestly theoretical question.

Sharpay gave him a look of surprise, but then laughed heartily at the absurdity of his inquiry. "Oh, Ryan, you actually had me going there for a second. But, seriously? Trust me. If you love Gabriella as much as you say you do," she said, glaring at him and pointing at the box he held, "then you'll show this to her. You know it's the right thing to do."

She smiled maliciously, knowing that her brother was so easily manipulated. "Good luck. Let me know how she takes it," she whispered, patting Ryan's head and scampering off.

Ryan was left sitting on the couch with a DVD and a very confused conscience.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

The next day at school, Ryan was still feeling unsettled by the time the last bell rang. He had been trying to convince himself all day that it was either indigestion or butterflies of anticipation for when Gabriella came crawling to him for comfort, but he knew that neither of these suppositions were true. He stopped by his locker and slowly packed his books away, giving himself more time to think this over.

Of all times, his sister chose to walk by his locker right then. "You have the evidence?" she asked harshly.

Ryan gave her a weak smile and held up the disc. "Right here," he mumbled.

She just smiled and winked at him, loving the feeling of power and control that she was getting. And she couldn't wait to see Troy again, if not just to increase his own unease.

She walked away from Ryan's locker and he sighed. He closed his locker and made his way slowly to the auditorium.

He was surprised to find that no one was there, but then he slapped his forehead in remembrance that Gabriella had a short Scholastic Decathlon team meeting today after school. She would be late. He silently thanked the stars that he would not have to face her immediately and he took a seat on the stage. He hesitantly pulled the DVD out of his backpack and stared at it, contemplating silently.

He and his sister had decided that _he _should be the one to show Gabriella the recording. That way, when the tears of disbelief came and she needed a shoulder to cry on, Sharpay's designer clothes would not be in danger and Ryan would have one-up on any other potential boyfriends Gabriella might consider. At least he could be a comfort to her in that situation…which was more than this tape would ever let her think of Troy again, though Ryan knew this was all through Sharpay's manipulation. He never thought Troy would fall for such a trick, but he did. And since he did fall for it, would that make it technically the right thing to do if Ryan used the blackmail? Maybe Troy really wasn't good enough for Gabriella…but then, the kiss was really all Sharpay's doing. So perhaps it wasn't Troy's fault…these thoughts circled round and round in his mind like a confusing mesh.

He just never actually thought it would come to this. He was so close. _So close._ He could feel it. Every day, their dance lessons became more and more intense, and, thusly, more and more heated. He could sense her beginning to feel comfortable around him…perhaps too comfortable, and he felt like he was truly winning her heart the old-fashioned, tried and true, _correct_ way. No cheating, no lies, no blackmail.

And then the actual plan which started it all came back and bit him in the butt. And here he sat. Alone in an auditorium, _thinking._ Thinking very deeply.

Meanwhile, Kelsi tiptoed into the theater, careful not to disturb Ryan and get on his bad side ever again. His endless apologies, whether in person, through letters, or (her favorite) flowers sent to her house and locker, had been above and beyond substantial, but she was always extraordinarily nervous around him, anyway. After the "incident," she made sure to tread especially lightly around him. She would still secure her man…no amount of displaced anger could possibly change her mind…but she needed to do so a little more gradually than she had hoped.

Ryan was so immersed in thought, however, that he did not even notice when Kelsi ascended the stage and stood directly behind him. She peered curiously over his shoulder to see the object of his attention, then grimaced in confusion. A DVD? Why would a movie be causing her Ryan to be so pensive?

She cleared her throat slightly, hoping to get his attention. His head shot up, and he turned around slowly to face her, appearing very bewildered as to how she came to be there. A look of sudden realization crossed over his features and he shiftily shoved the disc back into his backpack.

"Kelsi? How long have you been here?" he asked, the worry in his voice shining through.

"Hey, Ry. Not too long; you didn't miss anything as the world spun by you, if that's what you're wondering. I've only been here a few minutes," she rambled, trying to cut herself off and calm down. "What's wrong?" she questioned, hoping that he would give her an honest answer.

She should really stop hoping for things.

"Oh, you mean…you mean me? Nothing's wrong with me, no. Nothing. You? Is something wrong with you?" he stuttered, obviously very distracted and concerned.

Kelsi couldn't help but smile at his cuteness when he was so concerned. "No, nothing's wrong with me. But something _is _up with you, Ryan. I've hung around you enough to be able to tell when something's bugging you."

She could see his mind working rapidly behind his pale blue eyes, debating back and forth between whether he should confide in her or not.

Time to bring out the heavy artillery.

"Come on, Ryan. After what you said to me the other day, I think I deserve to know what's wrong with you when I ask," Kelsi demanded, frightening even herself at being able to use guilt to get to him.

Sure enough, that familiar look of worried shame overcame the other emotions in his eyes, and he sighed, defeated. Kelsi set her bag onto the stage floor and sat down. Ryan glanced up at her, as though sizing up her potential to keep a secret, and nodded decisively.

"I just…I don't know quite what to do," he started uncertainly.

Kelsi nodded patiently. _As though she couldn't figure _that_ much out for herself…_

Ryan continued, "I mean, Sharpay tells me to do one thing, and a part of me really wants to do it, too, you know?" he stated cryptically, looking to Kelsi for some sort of confirmation.

Upon her continued (though flustered) nodding, he went on, "But I know that--that what I'm potentially going to do is really wrong," he hesitated, trying to figure out how much he actually felt comfortable with Kelsi knowing. "It's sort of like a game, I guess. I mean, it's like I want to win…but do I want to win like this? By…cheating? I just don't know," he finished hastily, unsure of exactly where to take the conversation without giving anything more away.

He ducked his head away from her, as though trying to keep the burden of his decision to himself, but Kelsi placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned back around to meet her soft gaze.

"Ryan…first of all, let me say that I have no idea what in the world you were talking about," he laughed a little at this. "And secondly, my advice is, cheesy as it may sound, to follow your heart. Just do what _you_ know is right and is going to make you feel better in the long run. Don't let Sharpay make all your decisions for you. You're your own person and she can't control you," she said strongly, amazing herself at how much her motivation had changed her in the past few weeks. Now Ryan Evans was confiding in her and she was giving him guidance?!? This crush seemed to be doing much more for her than making her blush at every "Ryan-sighting."

Ryan seemed impressed, if not taken-aback, by her words. "That's some pretty strong advice, Kels," he mumbled. "I think you should take some of that advice, too."

Her heart leaped into her throat. The part about not letting Sharpay control her? Or…or the part about following her heart?

Why was everything Ryan said so cryptic today?

Kelsi nodded timidly, then decided that she had had enough of the "new-and-improved" Kelsi for one day and strode over to the piano bench to warm up before rehearsal.

Ryan took out the DVD and stared at it one last time.

_If you love Gabriella as much as you say you do, then you'll show this to her._

Sharpay's words echoed inside his head, confusing him beyond belief. But he knew this was cheating. He _knew_ this wasn't right. It came down to a battle between his morals and his sister's.

…Then why was he making this decision seem so hard?

Just then, Gabriella, in all her radiance, walked into the auditorium, muttering apologies for her tardiness.

"I'm so sorry, Ryan. I wanted to get here sooner, I really did, but I got hung up at the meeting," she apologized frantically before spotting the case in Ryan's hands and seeing the bothered look on his face. "Is everything okay?"

With one last look at the disc, Ryan tucked it away inside of his backpack.

"Yeah," he sighed, leaving his conscience with a clear feeling…but his heart with an oddly empty one. "Everything's fine."

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**We've still got three whole chapters left so don't think this is the end. ****Thank you to my anonymous reviewer, SMARTALIENQT, and all others who I believe I thanked in review replies. Let me know how it is and make me aware of any errors you spotted, please. Lovely, hateful, boring, insulting, entertaining or uplifting; however you feel, vent in a review and I will be much obliged. Thank you.**


	13. Reconsideration

**A/N: Again, sorry for making you wait. Hopefully this chapter will suffice for now. Enjoy.**

* * *

Ryan let the door slam behind him as he sulked into his home through the garage door. His head hung so that only the top of his hat was visible, and he scuffled his feet as he slowly meandered down the hallway. He carelessly flung his backpack into a closet as he walked and didn't lift his head until he heard the squeaking of a chair as it swiveled to face him.

Sharpay.

"Why so glum, Ry?" she asked mischievously. "Our futures are just about to begin."

She giddily hopped up from her chair and scampered over to Ryan, hugging him tightly in satisfaction.

"So…how is she gonna break it to him? Quietly or in front of the whole school?" she inquired enthusiastically.

A wry smile broke out onto Ryan's face and the subtle sadness in his eyes suddenly grew a tad more intense. "I doubt either one."

He broke away from her and continued his trek to the living room couch as Sharpay stared after him in confusion. "What? You mean she wasn't upset at all? How could she not care about something like that?!" Sharpay rattled, bewildered. "And she's supposed to be the smartest girl in school. Pfft, yeah, right."

Ryan simply nodded, letting Sharpay talk herself into oblivion. Unfortunately, he probably should have voiced an agreement because the fact that he was keeping suspiciously quiet led Sharpay to an uncomfortably accurate conclusion.

"Unless…" she gasped in epiphany, "you didn't show her the DVD."

Sharpay stood in the kitchen with her arms crossed, foot stomping angrily in anticipation of Ryan's response. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows were lowered in obvious fury. In fact, the look on her face was so intimidating that Ryan probably shouldn't have spared her a sideways glance. His sister's anger always caused him to cave much too quickly.

"And…if I didn't?" he countered defiantly.

Sharpay huffed crossly and stomped into the living room in a rage. "I knew it, Ryan, I just knew it! You little goody-goody. That Gabriella has been rubbing off on you," she whined.

"THE IRONY!" she then cried dramatically.

Something inside of him snapped, and Ryan leaped up from his position on the couch. He began to yell at her, "Well, it's just not right, Shar! I know that what we're doing—what we _were_ doing- was wrong. You said that if I loved Gabriella, I would show it to her. But it's not like that, Sharpay," he shouted, tears now unexpectedly filling his eyes. "I didn't show it to her because I knew I couldn't stand to see her cry. And _that_ is how I know I love her!"

Sharpay was slightly taken aback by her brother's emotional explosion, and they stood in tense silence for awhile as she watched him breathe heavily, trying to swallow his tears. But her anger overrode her sympathy.

"You're so pathetic, Ry," she scoffed, making her way over to the telephone.

Ryan watched her warily, following her to the phone. "What are you doing?"

She didn't bother to look up at him, just began to dial a number. "I'm calling Gabriella. If you won't show it to her," she smiled, looking up at him and bringing the phone to her ear, "I will."

Ryan's eyes went wide and he immediately grappled for the phone. He moved swiftly, too fast for Sharpay, and hung up quickly before it could begin ringing.

Sharpay gaped at him angrily, but then merely pulled out her cell phone and began to dial again. The defeated look on Ryan's face empowered her, and she began to dial slower, sensing his reaction.

"Wait," he cautioned. She stopped her endeavor and looked up at her brother haughtily.

"Don't. I--I'll show it to her," he conceded, knowing that the horrific news would probably be a smidge more bearable if Gabriella heard it from Ryan instead of her rival, Sharpay.

She smirked. "Good. Then call her," Sharpay commanded, standing her ground to be sure that Ryan completed his task this time.

Sighing, Ryan dialed Gabriella's number (a number he had memorized, but had never gained the courage to dial) and stood with the phone on his ear, praying that no one would be home.

No such luck.

"Hello?" a sweet, melodious voice called out. Ryan knew this belonged to Gabriella. Hearing her voice caused him to falter a bit, but one look at Sharpay's steely gaze told him that this was inevitable.

Ryan gulped and shut his eyes briefly. "Hey, Gab? It's Ryan."

He could sense her smile. "Ry? Oh, hey! What's up?"

"Hey, do you think you could come over? It's…sort of important," he declared guiltily.

"Come over…right now? Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Um…" he hesitated, unsure of how to answer that. "It's…hard to explain. Just come over as soon as you can, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be over as soon as I'm done with some of my Chemistry work, all right?" she assured him seriously.

Ryan nodded needlessly into the phone. "Great. I'll see you soon, bye."

"Bye," she replied, sounding concerned, and they both hung up.

Ryan glared at his sister. "There; happy now?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Not until she sees it."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Well, you'd better get going then."

"What do you mean? I'm staying right here. I can't have you flub again."

Ryan shook his head vigorously. "No. I don't want you here when I show it to her. That was our agreement—that you wouldn't be there when she saw it. _I_ was supposed to be there to comfort her, and that's going to be extremely hard to do if you're standing there smirking the whole time. I'll prove to you in whatever way possible that I showed it to her; just go," he demanded sternly.

Unable to argue sufficiently with her brother's committed logic, Sharpay stuck up her nose and rushed off to her pink convertible. Perhaps a long drive would clear up her anger with her rebellious sibling.

Ryan sighed wearily and plopped back down on the couch. He picked up the DVD remote and looked at it in disdain. He _did_ love Gabriella; he knew it. But he wished that he didn't have to win her like this.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

When the doorbell rang, Ryan took a deep breath before making sure the disc was already in the player. He straightened up and made his way to the front door. He opened it and grinned halfheartedly at Gabriella, his heart thumping in anxiety of what he was about to do. She had such a beautiful smile on her face and it sickened him to think that he would be the one to wipe it off.

"Hey, Ry, I came as soon as I could. What's up?" she wondered perkily.

Ryan cleared his throat before taking her hand. She glanced between their clasped hands and his face, and her own smile faded upon seeing his nerves. "I need to show you something," he whispered.

Slowly and silently, they made their way to Ryan's living room, where he instructed her to sit. She did so hesitantly, becoming agitated herself by Ryan's aura. She saw him pick up a remote and point it at the screen.

"Are we…watching a movie?" she asked perplexedly.

Ryan grimaced slightly, not looking back at her. "Not exactly."

The image of Troy and Sharpay interlocked in a heated dance lesson popped up onto the screen, and though Gabriella's eyes went wide at their apparent close proximity, she stated simply, "Ryan, I know they've been dancing together. So have you and I."

Ryan nodded almost imperceptibly. "I know," he managed to mumble softly.

He took a seat next to Gabriella on the couch, but made sure not to get too close. He felt as though touching her would cause her purity to be contaminated by his guilty lack of morality. Then, he took a deep breath, trying to get his shakily limp arms to function, and pressed the play button.

At first, Gabriella watched in relative detachment, simply wincing uncomfortably every time she noted Troy's flustered looks at Sharpay's figure; but she deduced that it was just a teenage boy thing that he would grow out of. Every now and then, she would spare a glance at Ryan, who seemed not to be watching, but rather looking down at his hands in shame.

They sat in awkward silence like this until the very end.

Suddenly, tension filled the screen as Troy and Sharpay became locked in a precarious position. Sharpay's back was leaning into Troy's chest and her face was turned sideways, lifting up to his. It was evident that Troy was experiencing some sort of conflict as his brow twitched and his eyes closed in frustration. Gabriella's own brow lowered and she leaned forward, willing him not to succumb.

But, the next second, Gabriella gasped in dismayed shock as Sharpay's lips met Troy's. She was too confused to watch the rest and see that he pulled away quickly, leaving with a clumsy apology and dashing out of the room.

Ryan ashamedly pressed the stop button on the remote and turned to Gabriella, a look of sorrow evident in his eyes as he stared at her and saw her hands covering her mouth and her head shaking in disbelief.

"No…he wouldn't," she muttered softly, tears starting to fill her delicate eyes.

She began to shake with uncontrollable sobs and helplessly leaned sideways, leaving Ryan to catch her. He embraced her wobbly form and shushed her, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her in whatever way he could.

Somehow, this didn't feel as victorious as he thought it would.

"You're right," he whispered finally into her ear. "He wouldn't."

Sharpay had told him to show Gabriella the video…but she had never forbidden him from explaining its setup.

The frail object of his affection sniffled and pulled away from him, trying to force eye contact. His heart broke so severely when he saw the puddles in her eyes and the anguish that emanated from her that he felt a lonely tear trickle down his own cheek.

Thankfully, Gabriella appeared not to notice.

"What do you meant he wouldn't?" she asked intently.

Taking a deep breath, Ryan explained that Sharpay had manipulated the entire thing. They both knew of Sharpay's desire to attain Troy Bolton for herself; it had become especially evident during last year's summer vacation. But she had several more plans up her sleeve, Ryan explained wearily. She had been planning _this_ little scenario since the end of summer, and Troy held absolutely no part in it.

Ryan explained this carefully, sure to neglect his own part in the devious plot. What she didn't have to know wouldn't hurt her.

Gabriella's eyes dashed back and forth quickly, obviously thinking wildly. "But…but he kissed her!" she countered strongly.

Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head assuredly. "No. Believe me when I say that when Sharpay knows what she wants, she gets it. No matter what. _He _didn't kiss _her. She _kissed _him._ I'm positive it wasn't mutual. She just…acted too fast for him to resist her, I guess."

Gabriella nodded, but a look of uncertainty still lingered in her eyes. "But how can you really be sure? It looked pretty convincing to me."

Ryan sighed, trying to think of a way he could prove his truth to her. "Tell you what, we have baseball practice tomorrow. I'll talk to Troy and maybe I can get Chad to talk to him, too. I mean, we're supposedly his best guy friends, right?" Ryan suggested. "He'll confide in either me or Chad if he has anything to hide. I swear I'll tell you the truth, whatever he says."

And he secretly hoped that Troy had some major hidden feelings to spill to him…then, maybe winning over Gabriella wouldn't feel so wrong. But he would honestly tell her the truth no matter what. He was tired of playing his sister's game.

Gabriella straightened up a bit, trusting Ryan, but sniffling nonetheless. Watching your boyfriend kiss another girl, willingly or not, was not a fun ordeal to go through. She hesitantly nodded, signaling that Ryan's idea was good enough.

"Now, are you gonna be okay?" he asked her gently, holding her shoulders and making her look into his eyes.

She gave him a half smile and unexpectedly flung herself onto him in a huge hug. He rocked back a little ways, but he held her firm, confident that she was willing to trust him. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes at the sensation of her embrace—it never ceased to amaze him how wonderful it felt to hold her.

She whispered to him, "Thanks, Ry. You're a terrific friend."

Ryan winced slightly at the word "friend," but he continued to rub her back as they hugged on his couch. Then, she caught him completely off guard and gave him a small peck on the cheek. He blushed profusely and hoped that she couldn't sense that she had just caused his heart rate to skyrocket.

At least, he decided, if this plan did end up failing, he knew that she would always come to him with any problems that she had. Maybe…just maybe, he could be okay with that for now.

But that didn't stop him from hoping that Troy would ruin himself tomorrow and admit to having feelings for Sharpay.

He wondered briefly if Troy had ever just held Gabriella and realized what a gem she was.

* * *

**Errors? Please tell me, and I will try to fix them. Criticism? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Encouragement? I'd be flattered and thankful. Only two chapters left, people, but there's a lot that still needs to happen in those two. Please review and let me know what you think: good or bad. Your reactions mean the world to me. **


	14. Remorseful Confession

**A/N: Well…that was quite an extensive wait, and I'm sorry for that. I've been losing my HSM obsession, writing for other things, working on some original ideas, and basically getting caught up in the flurry of life. Sorry for the lame excuse, but at least I have one, eh? Here is the much anticipated chapter 14, like it or not…**

* * *

The next day at baseball practice, after some intensive stretches and workouts, Troy was becoming decidedly uneasy by the scrupulous glances Ryan kept darting his way. It was clear the other boy wanted to confront him about something…and Troy was pretty sure it was something he didn't want to talk about. His mouth became dry (a regrettable nervous affliction of his), and he was pretty sure he wasn't just sweating from the exercise.

Finally, when the coach dismissed the team after practice, Troy rushed off to the boys' locker room and tried to avoid Ryan Evans at all costs. Lord, he hoped that boy hadn't found out about Troy's little rendezvous with Sharpay. If he had…well, let's just say their friendship, which was already built on unstable ground, would come crashing down like an avalanche.

Troy was doing his best to conceal himself in a corner, but he heard Ryan's voice and listened closely.

"Yeah, man, I just want to have a little talk with him. Where'd he go?"

"I'm not sure. I think he's back there, in the corner. Must have some embarrassing chest hair or something," Troy heard Chad jokingly answer.

He cursed his best bud under his breath. Didn't Chad realize he was hiding on purpose?! Inevitably, however, he heard the light footsteps of Ryan Evans as he traipsed up to the dark corner. Troy gulped as he saw his silhouette in the darkness. If he didn't know any better, this would almost seem like an awkward scene in an old teen movie. A _very _awkward scene.

He cleared his throat to loosen the tension buzzing in the air. "Hey, Ryan. What's up?"

Ryan shook his head. "Troy, what are you doing back here?"

His voice did not hold its usual perky, melodic sort of tone. Rather, he seemed suddenly extremely serious.

"Uh…getting dressed?" Troy answered pitifully.

Ryan scoffed. "Why so conscientious of your appearance all of a sudden? You used to run around Lava Springs without a shirt on all the time. Come on, dude, why don't you quit hiding in the dark corner? I think it's giving people the wrong impression, if you know what I mean."

Troy nodded and emerged from the darkness, still fully clothed in his baseball practice attire, therefore proving his statement that he was "changing" utterly absurd.

"I need to talk to you, Troy," Ryan said suddenly as the two made their way to one of the benches in the locker room to get dressed.

Uh oh…

"See, I heard…well, _saw_, actually, about something you did," Ryan continued.

Oh, crud, oh, crud, oh, crud….

Ryan turned and looked Troy straight in the eyes, no hint of mercy to be found. "You kissed my sister."

AWOOGA! AWOOGA! ALERT! ALERT! Suddenly, an alarm went off in Troy's head, and he felt all of the blood drain from his body, rendering him completely immobile. His worst fear had been confirmed.

Ryan opened his mouth, obviously about to question Troy's action, but Troy immediately cut him off and attempted a rapid explanation.

"Look, dude, I can explain! Something was seriously wrong with me, all right? I mean, we were just dancing and she suddenly was moving closer and closer to me and…and I didn't know what else to do! I'm not saying it's your sister's fault," Troy conceded, realizing that brotherly protection was obviously a factor in this. "I'm just saying…ah, man, I don't know what I'm saying. It just happened. But it was really quick, and I left as soon as it happened. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't help it. She just sort of…kissed me! I'm really sorry, dude. I didn't mean to kiss your sister."

Suddenly, something inside of Troy twisted and turned in horrified anguish. Ryan and Gabriella had become close friends over the summer and the past few weeks in dancing rehearsals. If Ryan knew about this whole fiasco…

"Does Gabriella know?" he asked warily, praying that his intuition would be false.

Ryan, who had been listening intently to the explanation, hesitated a moment before shaking his head "no." If Troy was really sincere about his regret, she wouldn't have to know for him to be sorry.

Troy breathed a momentary sigh of relief, but then he realized with terrible certainty that he needed to tell Gabriella himself, anyway.

"Then I'll tell her tomorrow," Troy said softly. "She has a right to know, you know? I shouldn't have kept it from her for this long. I should have told her right after it happened…maybe then, we could have just laughed it off and it wouldn't have seemed like such a big deal. But I have to tell her. I just…God, just let her know I'm sorry, okay? I mean, I'll tell her over and over, but…I don't know if she's going to believe me after this," Troy quickly wiped his eyes which were suddenly full of shameful tears. "Augh, I am such a jerky idiot."

As he put his face in his hands, Ryan just watched in careful observation. So far, he seemed sincere in his apology, much as Ryan had been hoping for a halfhearted sorry and a secret confession of his feelings for Sharpay.

Troy looked back up at Ryan, his eyes red and full of regret. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm sorry to Sharpay, and I'm especially sorry to Gabriella. I don't know what was wrong that day…it was almost like Sharpay was _trying_ to get me to kiss her. I know that's no excuse for falling into it, but…I'm serious when I say _she _kissed me. Not the other way around. But I'm still sorry, man. I wasn't thinking."

_Let's see, _thought Ryan, _he's admitted to the problem, provided an explanation, expressed a very sincere apology, and is now crumbling and breaking down in front of my eyes._

Ryan never thought he'd see Troy Bolton cry. He'd always seemed like that strong, jock figure every guy hated because of his masculine aura and his ability to get any girl he wanted (including Ryan's Gabriella). To see him complete with tears pouring out of his sorrowful eyes was almost pitiful. But, Ryan had to admit, begrudgingly, that in his position, he probably couldn't have come up with a better expression of remorse.

The two sat in relative silence for awhile, nothing but the occasional sound of Troy's choked sobs breaking it. Slowly but surely Ryan nodded, sighing in defeat of his attempt to get some sort of guilty admission out of Troy.

"Okay," he said quietly, his voice suddenly lost in his imminent sorrow at the entire destruction of the potential rebound-love of Gabriella.

Troy shook his head. "'Okay'? Just 'okay'? Aren't you furious? Don't want to punch me in the face or something? Man, don't let me off that easy! It'll only make me feel worse. I did something horrible."

Ryan chuckled hollowly. "Yeah, you did. But I really wasn't angry. I've had my…suspicions of Sharpay's motives for awhile," he admitted sadly. "When I told you Gabriella didn't know, I lied."

Troy's mouth turned to cotton and his eyes went wide with terror. "Does she hate me? Is she ever going to talk to me again?"

Ryan sighed. "She will now. I told her I'd get a confession out of you if there was anything to hide. But you passed the test. At least, for me you did. Don't think you're off the hook, though, man. You'd better be out all night tonight prepping the best apology speech in the world and spending all your life savings on some expensive apology gifts," Ryan warned.

Troy nodded sharply, unbelieving of this new beacon of hope in this otherwise dismal situation.

"Good luck, man," Ryan supported, patting Troy on the shoulder. He started to walk away, leaving the very confused, very grateful jock in his wake, but he turned around suddenly.

"Oh, but one more thing," Ryan commanded, his voice extremely solemn. "You had better take care of Gabriella. She's a special girl. If you ever do anything to hurt her like that again, I won't be so easy on you."

Troy just stared, shell-shocked, bewildered, and lost in a sea of overwhelming information and emotions. He checked his watch quickly and assessed just how much time he was going to need to prepare tonight for his apology date, gift, and speech. He took a deep breath, optimism in his mind, and scurried off to assemble all the necessary ingredients for his admittance of wrongdoing.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

The next day, before most people were at school, Ryan and Gabriella met in the auditorium to discuss her future love life. She had been a nervous and lost wreck for the past two days of not knowing what was really going on with Troy and Sharpay. She only trusted one person to give her the news straight up, and that was Ryan. She knew she could count on him to tell her the truth, no matter what. He had a penchant for being brutally honest about everything, and she'd discovered that he didn't lie very well when he tried. So, when she walked in and saw him looking extremely glum on the stage, her heart sank, and she nearly began to cry.

"He loves her, doesn't he?" she squeaked, tears threatening to emerge.

Ryan looked up quickly and saw Gabriella standing there, ready to sob. He gave her a half-grin that didn't quite reach his eyes and shook his head.

"Quite the opposite, actually. He was really sincere in his apology, and he was going to tell you about it today if you hadn't already known," he tried his best to bite back his bitterness. "Looks like you two really were meant for each other."

Thankfully, Gabriella didn't notice the pain in his voice, and her eyes shined from tearful hope. "Really?"

Ryan nodded. "Of course. Why would I lie to you about that?"

She laugh-sobbed and giddily ran to Ryan, squeezing him with all her might. "Oh, thank you so much, Ry. You have no idea how much this means to me. I feel so much better."

Ryan didn't smile, but he held her close anyway, knowing she would think of it only as a friendly gesture, not the act of a desperate man in need of her affections.

As they broke apart, he made another attempt at smiling. "If you go to your locker, I'd make a bet that there's someone there who has a lot of explaining and apologizing to do," he remarked, knowing that Troy had called him last night to make one last apology and get Ryan's approval of his plan. He knew Troy was waiting at her locker with a box of chocolates, flowers, jewelry and a teddy bear, complete with an apology note in its mouth.

"You're so sweet," she said, once again kissing Ryan on the cheek. "I owe you one."

Ryan shrugged, "Nah. Just stay adorable and that'll be enough for me."

She gave him a playful slap on the arm before skipping off of the stage and throwing Ryan a careless "Goodbye!"

He watched her leave and realized with a heavy heart how bittersweet this entire endeavor had been.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

About halfway through the day, Ryan and Sharpay were arguing about how to spend the rest of the week's dance rehearsals, since Troy and Gabriella would now be dancing with each other, not them, and the musical was on Friday. Sharpay was in the middle of a hearty rebuke when she saw out of the corner of her eye that Troy and Gabriella were walking, hand-in-hand, down the hallway and talking calmly about something.

Sharpay shot her brother a hard glare and saw that he, too, was watching them, a semi-smirk on his face.

She angrily whispered, "You didn't TELL HER?!"

Ryan, still sneering, said smoothly, "Oh, no, Sis. I told her. I told her EVERYTHING."

His emphasis of "everything" made her realize that he must have spilled the intricacies of her plot, and her mouth shot open as a squeal of protest emitted. Ryan's confident air, however, left Sharpay otherwise speechless.

"Can't wait for rehearsal today, Shar," he snuffed, leaving her to fume.

Angering his sister and foiling her evil plot certainly made Ryan feel better…but a certain emptiness remained inside of him, dying to be filled by something…or, rather, some_one_.

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**No, it's still not quite over. One chapter left...then you'll all know which pairing(s) this story really is. Please, if you're still reading and enjoying this, send me a review. And, if you're not enjoying it, let me know why. If it's anything within my control (characterization, grammar, spelling, etc.) I shall attempt to fix it for you. If it has anything to do with the plot/pairings, please share, but I'm afraid it would be a little difficult to change my entire outline for you. But feel free to express yourself in a review. One last chapter to go. Hold on, folks, it'll be here in the coming weeks.**


	15. Uncertain Endings

**A/N: Well…here it is. The final chapter of this crazy story. We've had our ups and downs, but we finally made it to the end…it's a bittersweet feeling, as the author, to finally be done. On one hand, I'm incredibly relieved not to have to worry about finishing this anymore, and on the other hand, it's going to be sad not having a multichapter fic going anymore. But, hopefully, it's been worth it. Seriously, thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You guys rock, and this whole story is dedicated to everyone who reviews. You're all amazing. **

**So, without further mushy ado, here is the final chapter:**

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Of course, having officially been members of the "crew in charge of production," Ryan and Sharpay were given complimentary front row tickets to the musicale. Sharpay was still slightly angry with her brother for trusting his "heart" more than her master plan, but somehow the entire atmosphere of the musical seemed to melt away her icy outer shell, and she smiled as she watched the show. Sure, it starred the two most irritating people in school, and sure her brother had been soft enough to fall right into Gabriella's lap, but Sharpay could never remain unhappy when she attended a musical. It just gave her chills knowing that, someday, when _she_ was that star, she would be giving other people this incredible, uplifting feeling that surrounded true musical talent. So she cuddled up next to Ryan and grinned in sheer pleasure as the final number began to lilt through the auditorium.

Ryan, however, wasn't exactly feeling the same intoxicating joy his sister was. Admittedly, it was a beautiful performance. Flawless, even. Troy and Gabriella had really worked hard on the dance moves, and their voices needed no direction. The feelings exuding from them were genuine, and every time they smiled on stage, you could tell they were smiling from the inside out.

But, nevertheless, Ryan still watched with a heavy heart. Whenever Gabriella's eyes sparkled in the stage light as she looked lovingly over at Troy, Ryan felt a pang carve through his heart. He wasn't angry or jealous; after all, Troy was his friend, and Ryan had given up his chance at Gabriella's love in favor of the rationality of his conscience. He just felt…inadequate. The final notes of the last, slow love song echoed through him, almost bringing him to the brink of tears. It was so beautiful, and yet he felt detached, as though he was too much of a failure to ever be a part of such beauty.

Following the final chord on the piano, the crowd erupted into applause, immediately standing up to congratulate the various actors who skittered onto stage to take their bows. Sharpay pulled on Ryan's sleeve, and they rushed onto stage together, acknowledging their parts as choreographers in the production. Even Ryan, in the intensity of the atmosphere, could not help but smile as the auditorium continued to serenade the cast and crew with claps of congratulation.

At last, the curtain closed and the participants buzzed off stage and into the main lobby where there were to be refreshments and socialization following the performance.

Ryan looked around for Gabriella, but saw that she was no longer on stage. She must have already left. He exited backstage and sifted through the large group of people in attendance to find where the actors had gone. He stood on his toes, trying to ascertain exactly where Gabriella was amongst the throng. However, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, so he spun around.

"Hey, Ry!" her beautiful voice called. She wrapped him in her arms and squeezed him joyfully.

_Wow, we've hugged a lot these past few weeks, _he thought suddenly, smiling and returning the gesture.

"Oh my gosh, you were amazing up there," Ryan breathed, shaking his head in awe. "You were beautiful and perfect, and you were just…"

He stopped talking and just kept smiling, knowing there was really no word that would ever come comparatively close to what Gabriella portrayed on that stage tonight.

She blushed and smiled politely, modest as always. "Well, thanks, Ryan. But it was really all you. That dancing I did up there…I never would have been able to do that without you. You're an amazing teacher. Are you sure I didn't mess up too much? You are the dance expert."

Ryan laughed. "Of course not. You were fantastic. I didn't notice one little slip of the foot. You're by far the best dance student I've ever had the pleasure of working with," he stated gentlemanly.

She smiled radiantly again. "And you're the best dance instructor ever."

Then, she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Gabriella!" Troy's voice carried across the room. Both Ryan and Gabriella turned around to see nothing but a hand waving in their direction, beckoning her away to Troy.

She turned to Ryan apologetically. "I guess I gotta go find Troy," she shrugged. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Ryan simply nodded, still in shock from her small kiss, and she scurried off in the opposite direction. He watched her leave with a mixture of emotions. He still felt slightly sorrowful, but…the tension was lessening and his heart was slowly picking up the pieces and putting them back together. He knew that, given time, he would be all right.

He turned around to walk out of the crowd, but someone caught his eyes. Kelsi was standing there, just watching him. Upon a deeper (but inconspicuous) inspection, he saw in her eyes something similar to that same longing look he used to give Gabriella. He wondered for a moment if perhaps he had just imagined it or if he naturally dramatized everything, but then it all started to click together and become clear.

She had been more than willing to practice with him every day he needed her, without question. She had been at the baseball game when he was down and out of his luck to give him comfort. She had been there to give him advice when he most needed it, and she had always been there for him before.

Kelsi had remained a constant throughout this whole crazy scenario…and he was just now noticing that look in her eyes.

Suddenly, he felt so completely stupid and clueless. Had he really been so wrapped up in his scheme to secure Gabriella that he'd been oblivious to Kelsi all the while? How long had she been staring at him in that way?

Ryan turned away from her, lost in this revelation. He stared at the ground, shut his eyes, and collected his thoughts for a moment, weighing all his options and emotions. Finally, he came to a conclusion, stood up straight and confident, and strolled right over to where Kelsi was standing.

Of course, seeing his approach, Kelsi immediately ceased staring and seemed as though she would attempt to get away. But Ryan would not let her.

"Hey, Kels! Wait up!" he shouted to her, willing her to stay put. He jogged just to make sure he'd catch up with her, though, and when he finally got right up in front of her, he asked, "What are you doing after this?"

She seemed surprised, as she stumbled backward to a certain degree, by his question. "Um, uh…just going home. Why?"

"Well, I just thought that, since you did such an outstanding job with the musical and everything, that we could go see a movie or something…just you and me," he suggested, shrugging.

Her jaw literally dropped a few inches in shock. "Like a…a…" she timidly stuttered, afraid to even suggest it. But the confidence she had managed to build over the past few weeks came in handy and she finally, whispering, confirmed, "a date?"

Ryan laughed. "Well, isn't that what it's usually called when a boy and girl who like each other go out to the movies alone together?"

The dumbest grin spread across her face, and her heart fluttered. "I guess so."

"Then there's your answer," he replied.

She almost laughed in glee, but then her heart slowed, and she became wary. "But what about Gabriella?" she inquired sadly.

Ryan was slightly surprised that she had picked up on his crush, but he glanced over in Gabriella's direction anyway, as though to confirm his potential mixed up feelings. He could finally see her through the slowly dissipating crowd of people, and she was laughing happily with Troy.

Perhaps…perhaps one day, if Troy ever did hurt her again, Ryan could be there for her. But for now, he thought, glancing back at Kelsi and seeing her hopeful eyes, he should give this a shot. After all, who knew? Maybe Kelsi really was the girl for him; he'd just never given it too much thought before now. And now that he did think about it, the prospect certainly seemed to make sense.

"I think I have someone else special that I want to concentrate on right now," he said slyly, flashing Kelsi a sincere grin. "I'm ready to give _us_ a shot."

He smiled warmly at her and offered his arm for her to hold, which she immediately latched onto giddily. They made their way toward the door, Ryan sparing one last glance at Gabriella, and then Ryan and Kelsi left the building hand-in-hand. They were followed closely by Sharpay, who was apparently being driven home by Zeke in _his _car so that she wouldn't smear any of her warm, baked chocolate chip cookies on the expensive interior of the twins' convertible.

Ryan and Kelsi had real potential, though, Ryan thought. They both liked hats, they both liked music, and they were both relatively shy. He was honestly willing to try to make this work with all of his heart.

Then again, maybe they wouldn't work out, and one day he'd get his chance at Gabriella.

Perhaps, even, none of this would work out, and he would need to search for someone else eventually.

Who knew?

After all, life is full of uncertainties…

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**The End!**

**Well, there you have it, like it or not. Seriously, thank you so much for sticking with me through this crazy ride. It's been fun. Please, if you've been reading this story, I would love to hear from you. Please send me a review: good or bad. Let me know if you liked the final pairing, the plot, the characterizations, the grammar and vocabulary usage, etc. and let me know of what I can improve. Anything. Please review and thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it at least to an extent. **


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